Like A Wall, I Hear Everyone's Secrets
by NoRegretsJustWrite
Summary: The names Georgia 'Ghost' Giovanni and I'm in the 11th Grade here at Degrassi. Not everybody knows who I am, but I sure know who everybody else is. I've been hiding in the walls of the school since freshman year. But now, my secret's about to get out.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first Degrassi fic and I'm in luv wit the new season and Eclare, so I'm making this. Hope u like!

Chapter 1:

I've Seen It All

I've been in Degrassi for 3 years now. I'm in the 11th Grade, I was once a freshman, and I despised every minute of it. You already know Degrassi for its reputation of being filled with drama. Well, I've never been in any of that. I just always used to watch, and sometimes pick a person up. But now, I'm tired of being behind the scene. I'm a junior now; I need to make a name for myself. At the moment, I'm Scar-Face. Long story short, I grew up in an abusive family. This left me with a scar over my right eye. I usually wear skinny hoodies with the hood up, so no one notices unless I accidently fall in the hallway. My real name is Georgia 'Ghost' Giovanni. My friends call me Ghost because I'm usually in the crowd and if I could, I'd be in the school walls, hearing everyone's little secrets. My friends consist of Clare, Adam, Eli, Drew, Alli, and more people that I can't count. They all became my friends this year, geniuses. I helped them out so we sorta became friends. And they helped me in return. You'll figure it out as the story goes on. And you'll figure out a few of my secrets. So, here we go. This is like, right before I re-met Eli or Adam, around the time that the rumor about Clare started.

"You are, like, so weird to me, G. You hang with us. And we're only in the 10th Grade!" Alli said throwing her hands up for exaggeration. I rolled my eyes and said "I hang with you guys because you aren't exactly like the other kids in this school. Stuck up and bully-ish." She was asking me why I hang with 10th Graders. What's so wrong with that? I could hang with the whole school if I wanted to, but I honestly don't want to.

"But, you could be massively popular if you didn't! Why would you risk all of that?" she asked. I stopped walking with her and said "I'm not risking anything. Besides, if anyone wants to say anything about it, I'll kick their ass." I said and continued to walk to the school.

"Ok, but what about your clothes?"

"What about my clothes?"

"It's not exactly eye-catching. Sorry, I thought you knew!" I sighed and pushed my brown hair back. Sometimes hanging around Alli really annoyed me, but I love the girl for it.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" She thought for a second and then said "Come with me and Clare shopping after school. We'll get you something that's oh-so your style." She finished with a smile. I thought for a second and let out a "Sure." She squealed and we continued to walk towards the school. Who knows how that will end up.

In the middle of the day, I started hearing about a rumor going on that Clare got a boob job. Which I couldn't help but laugh at. I mean, it's Clare we're talking about! She would never do something so desperate. So I asked her about it after school when we (me, Clare and Alli) since we didn't have any classes together on Thursdays.

"So, you had laser eye surgery? And Jenna overheard and thought you were talking about a boob job?" I asked and Clare nodded. She didn't have her glasses on and her eyes were more 'out there' now. "How the hell does a ditz like Jenna get eye surgery and boob surgery mixed up? Do you want me to punch her for you?"

"No, I took care of it." She said and I smiled. She was definitely getting her badass-ness from me. She took her old glasses from out of her pocket, looking at them sadly.

"Maybe I should just, I don't know, go back to the old me." She said holding them up to her face.

"Uh, no way!" Alli said laughing, trying to stop Clare, but she ended up knocking them out of her hands into the street.

"My glasses!" Clare yelled as a car rolled over it. A car that I recognized as a hearse. The car stopped and a guy with black shaggy hair stepped out with screamo music blasting out of it. He was wearing all black, in all of this heat. He picked up the smashed glasses and handed them to Clare saying "I think they're dead." I looked up at the guy and was shocked.

"I uh, it's okay, I-um…got…laser eye surgery." Clare stuttered and he looked at her and she looked back.

"You have pretty eyes." He said and I rolled my eyes, surprised that he didn't notice me yet.

"Thanks. See you around?" she asked hopefully. Me and Alli shared a look.

"I guess you will." He said as he got back in his car. Before he drove away, I pounded on his car. He stopped and opened his car door again. He looked up at me and was shocked. I gave him a smile and said "Hi to you too, Eli." He smiled and gave me a hug.

"Well if it isn't little Georgia. What are you doing here?" he asked pulling back. He looked at me up and down and asked "Did you get bustier?" I gasped and punched his shoulder.

"Glad you noticed." I said sarcastically. He laughed and said "Look, I gotta go, but we'll talk later, okay?" I nodded. He closed his door back and drove off. I sighed as Alli and Clare ran up behind me.

"You know him?" they both said and I nodded.

"We went to the same middle school." I said remembering when he stood up for me in the 7th grade. Me and Alli both looked over to Clare, who was staring dreamily at the hearse in the distance.

"I've seen that look before." Alli directed to Clare. She turned and said "I have no idea what you're talking about." I smiled at her and threw an arm over her shoulder. We continued to walk until we passed by a garbage can. Clare took one last look at the glasses before dumping them in the trash. We continued to walk until we made it to the bus stop, which we took to the mall. Alli and Clare had me running in every store that they think I would like from Hot Topic to Aeropostalé to Journeys. I had to admit, one of the reasons I loved Alli was that the girl could give a makeover to anyone, and I mean ANYONE. After we were done shopping for about 30 outfits, we went back to my house so I could model the stuff we bought. After I tried on everything and they gave me thumbs up on everything, they had to leave. We said our goodbyes and I went to sleep, eating in my room.

I woke up to my phone dinging. I answered with a groggy "Hello?" "Wake up, Ghost. It's time for school." She said and I groaned. I heard my mom yell a "Get out!" and quickly said "Listen, Clare, I'm gonna be to school a little late. I'll talk to ya later, k? K!" Before she could question me, I hung up and opened my bedroom door, peeking through it. I gasped and locked the door, afraid he might've saw me. 'Dad!' I thought throwing some clothes on(not my new stuff). I heard running up the stairs and quickly locked my door.

"Georgia! Honey, run!" I heard my mom yell.

"Be quiet!" I heard my dad say from the other side. I quickly threw all of my clothes and toiletries into a bag and tossed it out the window. I heard the door handle shake as I opened the window wider.

"Georgia, open the door!" my dad yelled again and I could hear him ram it with his shoulder. I hopped out from the 2nd floor and landed in front of the house in the bushes. I grabbed the duffel I threw everything in and opened the large window in the living room and grabbed my book bag. I quickly ran away from my house, trying not to look back. My mom had told me what to do if he ever came back when she wasn't home or if she was home. I just never thought he would come back. I had to leave my mom behind, which sucked even more. Now the real question was where was I gonna go? I stopped running when I was about 3 blocks away from my house and thought where to go. Everyone was probably at school already…wait, no, not everybody. I quickly ran to my destination, hoping that he still had the same address. I saw his hearse in the driveway and saw him walk out the door of his house. He didn't notice me until I whispered a faint "Eli?" He looked up and stared at me, confused. I walked up to him and collapsed in his arms.

"I need a place to stay. My dad came back… you were close…I ran all the way here…dot dot dot…etcetera." I faintly said.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I told u i'd get it in by atleast the end of the day! it's only 11:40!...anyways, this is kinda short cause i'm working on a damn summer essay(IN ITALIAN!) retarded school...on with the chapter!

Chapter 2:

So, It's Cool Then?

He had carried me into his house and had dropped my bags off at the door. His parents had already left for work, so it was just us. He dropped me on the couch and I leaned against the comfy throw pillows.

"Should I leave you here?" he asked and I nodded. I know I told Clare that I would be at school, but I had too much going on to deal with the drama of high school. He ran upstairs and came back down with a comforter.

"Here." He said throwing it on me. I covered myself in it and saw him walk out the door.

"Wait! What if I get hungry?" I yelled and I heard him yell back "You know how to cook! Make something!" I rolled my eyes and laid back. What was I supposed to do for the next few hours? I pulled out my i-pod and started blasting Dead Hand. They were a favorite band at the moment. I sang silently to Paisley Jacket as I drifted off to sleep. About 2 hours later, I felt someone hitting my shoulder repeatedly. I punched the person in the stomach as a reflect and I heard a recognizable 'oof!' I opened my eyes slightly and saw black hair first and then a full image of Eli crouching over.

"Oh! Sorry, I thought you were someone about to rape me. What are you doing here?" I asked sitting up and taking out my headphones. He was still hunched over, but I was able to hear what he said.

"Thought…you might need…some lunch…I remembered…that you can't cook…" he strained out still holding his stomach. I rolled my eyes and sat him up straight.

"Ok, I did not punch you that hard." I said and he grabbed something out of his pocket. It was a brown paper bag and he handed it to me. I grabbed what was inside and stared at it.

"A sandwich? I don't see you for a whole 2 years and you bring me back a sandwich?" I asked shaking it in his face.

"It's a BLT." I quickly unwrapped the plastic wrapping of the sandwich and bit into it. I let out a sigh and said with a mouthful "Did I mention that you're awesome?" He smirked at me, his signature smirk.

"Maybe, but I don't think I remember, can you say it again?" he said playfully. I continued to eat as he just watched me from a distance.

"So, what are you doing here instead of at school? You can get in trouble for that, ya know." I said, swallowing my food.

"So you're saying you never took off before?"

"Not exactly. I've skipped, but I always seem to get caught." He laughed from his position, leaning on the wall.

"You only get caught because you're not as stealthy as I am." I almost choked on my food laughing.

"You, stealthy? Since when? And by the way, don't make me laugh when I'm eating something good." I said trying to swallow my food, but not completely succeeding.

"I wear all black, do it right _before_ classes, it's pure genious." He said with a mocking tone. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever…so I'm guessing you're not going to the big games today?" He gave me a look and I said "I'll take that as a no. What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna keep my friend company while she explains to me what's happened over the past 2 years." He said taking a seat next to me. I was hoping that he wouldn't ask, but then again, it's Eli we're talking about. I sighed and rested my sandwich down. I began to tell him about what's happened over the past 2 years, from my family, to my newest friends, to Degrassi. After I was almost done, he cut in asking "So what about this morning?" I sighed again and said "I can't forget _that_ about you, Eli. You're like an instigator. Or something."

"So…"

"So I woke up to Clare calling me saying it was time for school. I honestly can't get up on my own. I heard my mom yell at someone from downstairs and I had checked from my door to see who it was and saw that it was my dad. I had locked the door and started packing all of my stuff. He must've noticed because he ran upstairs with my mom trailing behind. She told me to run and I threw my bag out the window before jumping out myself. I grabbed my bags and ran a few blocks away, so my dad wouldn't find me. I was trying to see where I was gonna stay, and your house was close, plus, I knew you wouldn't have been to school yet. So I went to your house and, you know the rest." I rambled. It was silent for a moment until he asked "Do you really think that I wouldn't have been at school yet?" I looked at him for a second and nodded saying "Yeah, I'm sure." He thought and said "That kinda hurt." I laughed and said "Don't be surprised, I'd probably be a day late to school if I could."

After another few hours, I noticed his parents still weren't there.

"Hey, dude. Where's the 'rents?" I asked turning to him. He shrugged and I heard a phone's ringtone go off. I was hoping that it was mine, but it was Eli's. He picked it up and walked out of the room. I checked my phone and was frightened at the fact that my mom didn't call. 'What did my dad do to her? She can't be gone…' I shook at the thought. Eli came back saying "Ok, so my parents are going on some business trip, so I guess it's just…" he stopped when he saw me shaking. He sat back down next to me and said "She's gonna be okay, Georgia. I promise." I pulled him into a hug and whispered "I'm glad that you're back in my life. You're like the brother I always wanted." He patted my back and said "Ok, this love fest, never happened." I pulled back and said "Joy Kill."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This is my 3rd chapter and i kno i'm really late 4 this, but here you go!

Chapter 3

Bad Pair of Shoes

Ok, so, it's been about a few days since I've been living with Eli. And I haven't even started wearing my new clothes yet, if you're wondering. I've been to stressed lately. I swore that when I had got a call on Saturday that it was my mom, but no one answered. Plus, it didn't have any actual number, so I couldn't call back. I had been crying myself to sleep for a while. I tried calling her cellphone, but she wouldn't pick up. On Monday and Tuesday, I had watched the attraction of Eli and Clare start up. They're English partners (so they say). Plus, he gave her his headphones (he barely goes anywhere without them, so giving them to her was like 'you so like her' in my book). Me and Alli think otherwise, but it's not in my forte to find out. Alli, on the other hand, has been cuddling it up with Drew, the new QB1. Yeah, I'm wondering if they're an item, too. It's confusing to say right now, but I'll figure it out. Hmm, let's see what else I've been hearing in the walls of Degrassi (yes I said walls not halls). Riley and Owen hazed Drew, which downgraded Riley from being QB1, giving the spot to Drew (pretty conniving if you ask me). Alli tried to make it out in cheerleading, but then didn't make it so she tried to coordinate a dance crew. The crew called her stuck up and kicked her out and she slightly embarrassed herself at the game. Good thing she had her friends, or she would've been humiliated with a capital H. Something happened with KC, but I can't completely remember. Oh well. On with the present!

Me and Eli listened to the radio on a Sunday, totally hyped about the Dead Hand concert coming up. I already bought my ticket and backstage pass with some of the emergency money my mom gave me (she would've been proud). Eli was pissed that I didn't buy him a ticket, but I needed the money for important stuff. So, he was gonna have to figure out another way to win the tickets. And then we heard about a contest that has to do with keeping your hand on a van and if your hand is the last one on it, then you win Dead Hand tickets and backstage passes. It was being held at Degrassi, by the student council, so of course Eli was gonna enter. I was gonna go for support and to laugh at people who fall for the silliest tricks. I asked Sav if it was cool if I just sat there with him and Holly J and he said it was, so I watched as students were being eliminated like flies on those weird electric lamps. It was only Eli, Adam and Wesley left. I could tell that Wesley had to use the bathroom because he kept fidgeting. Sav started singing some song while playing his guitar. I looked in my bag and pulled out my water bottle. 'This is taking way too damn long.' I thought.

"Hey, Eli, want some water?" I asked in a fake cheery tone.

"Sure, Ghost! Thanks!" he said with the same amount of fake enthusiasm. I handed it to him with the top off and he began drinking it.

"Aaaah! That's some great water! Whoops!" he said spilling the water slowly on the ground in front of Wesley. I laughed as Wesley continued to squirm. He started spilling it more slower and Wesley started breathing in and out. Eli continued spilling the water, stopping every few seconds.

"You guys maybe just wanna, split the tickets?" I chuckled to myself.

"How exactly do you propose we split the four passes three ways?" Eli asked as he stopped pouring to look at him. When he didn't answer, he continued to pour slower.

"I don't know I just…really gotta go!" and with that, he took off, his hand with him. I laughed and murmured "Whimp."

"Guess it's just you and me Fish Boy." Adam said slightly closer to him.

"I've got the bladder of a camel." Eli said and I scrunched up my face in disgust.

"That's nasty." I said and he shrugged.

"Uh, guys. I'm no math genius, but I'm pretty sure you can split the tickets two ways." Sav said standing up. Adam and Eli looked at each other, speaking in some weird, silent guy language.

"Yeah alright."

"I've got places to be anyway." I rolled my eyes. 'Yeah, like where?' I thought as Sav handed them the tickets. "It's about time." I said.

"Can you guys help me unload the truck too, I gotta get it home before my dad starts freaking." SAv asked the guys.

"Sure, it's the least we can do." Adam said walking over to the side of the truck. I got off the truck and stepped to the side while I watched the guys as they started unloading the truck. Sav handed Adam an amplifier and he stumbled back with it.

"Uh, guys… a little help…" he said trying to hold it, but he was losing his balance. He tried to lean it against the car, but due to the weight of the amplifier being bigger than his, he sorta dropped it.

"Wait, no!" Sav said but it was too late. It hit against the car's tail lights, turning the car's alarm system on.

"Oh crap." I said, watching as Adam bent down to look at it. I walked over and looked at it closely, carefully not touching it. I looked up at Sav who looked like he was about to explode.

"Just, just don't…freak out." I heard Eli say to him. Sav got in his face and yelled "Don't freak out! My dad's gonna…" He couldn't even finish because he was too mad. So mad that he yelled out, making me jump.

"Dude, chill the fuck out, we'll fix it before your dad finds out." I said and he looked down at me. I felt a little small under his gaze.

"How are we gonna fix it!" he yelled at me and I stood up, my spiked bracelet hitting the shattered tail light, making more shards fall off. He gave me a look and I quickly grabbed Eli's arm.

"Maybe, we should go…" Eli said starting to walk away. Sav didn't notice, he just held his head in his hands, while Holly J rubbed his back. I saw Adam start to slowly walk off also. After we were far enough, me and Eli took off. 'No way was I gonna get into this.' I thought as we made it to Morty. I hopped in the backseat because I love the feeling of the carpet. After all of that, Eli thought that it would be fair if we gave the other tickets to Sav, after what had happened to the car. I agreed, because I felt sort of icky inside after walking away. We both walked into The Dot, seeing Sav talking to one of the workers, Peter.

"Hey man." We both said at the same time. Sav turned to us slightly and then completely. "Sorry about the tail lights. I'm pretty decent with cars, maybe I could help you replace it." Eli finished.

"Yeah, with what? Money from the Tail Lights for Tots charity drive? It's expensive." Sav said looking back at his computer, but not enough to lose our attention.

"Snarky much?" I said smirking. Eli gave me a look and I just shrugged. Not my fault his tail lights got busted.

"Here. Adam and I-" Eli started but I cut him off. "Adam, him, and me want you to have the tickets." I said giving Eli a look with my hands on my hips. He gave me a look and I raised my eyebrow. He turned back to Sav.

"Yeah. Maybe you can sell them." He finished handing them to Sav. He took them, disbelievingly.

"Thanks." Sav said and Eli smiled, both of us walking to a table. We both sat down and he said "So, how are we gonna repair that and with what money?" I thought for a second and saw Bianca walk in. She was in the contest too, but she lost.

"He's gonna get the money and probably ask you to fix it." I said turning back to him. Eli nodded and looked out the window. I patted his hand.

"Dude, your goth, not emo. There's a difference, trust me." I said with a smile and he laughed.

"Thanks for cheering me up. For whatever reason." He said smirking. After about 20 minutes, Sav had told us that he had the money to buy it, so we bought the new tail lights and made it back to the school, where Adam was there, watching it. Eli did his magic on the tail lights and he finished in at least 15 minutes. He whipped it off and I gave him a high five.

"Wow, it looks brand new. I can't believe you even fit it in there." Sav said staring at it.

"That's what my ex-girlfriend said." Adam said. We all looked at him and said "What?"

"Gross." Eli said.

"How do you think _I_ would react to that?" I said holding up my spiked wrist to Adam. He took a step back and Eli gave me a look.

"Calm down, I wouldn't really hit him with the spiked wrist. I'd hit him with the other one." I said smiling at him. He still looked scared so I jokingly punched him in the shoulder. He slightly flinched.

"I'm messing with you, smile sometimes, kid." I said. He put on slight smile while rubbing his shoulder.

"Well, there's still one more test." Sav said before opening the driver's side and checking the tail lights. They came on perfectly.

"Boo Yah!" Adam yelled and we all looked at him strangely again.

"Boo Yah? Really, dude?" Sav said from the driver's seat.

"Who are you?" Eli stated and Adam said "Sorry."

"Ok, well we're good to go. Dude, Eli, where did you learn to do this?" Sav asked. We all walked over to him while Eli answered "I always have to keep Morty in check, like one of these days. I've learned a lot about cars." Sav nodded and said "Well, you totally saved me, we should hang out sometime."

"Yeah. So…how you getting to the concert?" Eli asked. I thought for a second and realized I didn't even have a ride.

"I still gotta tell my dad that I'm going. And after he figures out I busted a tail light-" "Just keep your mouth shut and he'll never know the difference." Eli said and Sav looked at him like he was crazy.

"Yeah, and then we can take this bad boy to Hamilton." Adam said patting the car, smiling. A smirk appeared on my face as I looked at all of them. Sav looked confused about it all, but I quickly tried to convince him.

"Come on, dude. There's no way possible that we'll get caught unless…unless the concert is a fake and we all get arrested or something stupid." I said reassuringly. They all looked at me and I said "What? I'm just saying that nothing can possibly go wrong."

"Ghost is kinda right. In a way." Eli said turning from me to Sav.

"…No way." Sav said. I sighed.

"Well, how else are we gonna get there?" Eli asked. "Yeah, we kinda need you, man." Adam added. Sav thought for a second before saying "Your screwed without me right?" We all nodded.

"Well then let's get this thing started!" he said and I grinned. The guys did some weird handshake and walked away. He was just going to give me a fist bump, but I just gave him a quick hug.

"Thanks a ton, dude." I said before walking away to catch up with the others. Us three went to The Dot just talking and chilling. Sav came in about half an hour later with a glum look on his face. 'Uh oh.' I thought looking up at him. He grabbed a seat and Adam spoke up first.

"So, what's the word?" he asked. Sav sat down and said "The truck's a no go." I let out a groan.

"You told him the truth, didn't you?" Eli asked. I rolled my eyes. 'This is what I get when I trust people I barely know.' I thought.

"Ok, um, how was I supposed to know that honesty had just stopped being the best policy?" Sav said sarcastically.

"So what are we gonna do?" Adam asked.

"It's simple. We're not going." I answered flatly, resting my head in my hands.

"Oh no, we're going. If my dad won't give me the truck, then I'll just have to take it." He said and I grinned.

"Looks like the goody-goody two shoes is starting to wear his big bad sneakers too long." I said smirking. He laughed and I bumped fists with him. The next day at school, we were looking at newspapers to find events that Sav's parents could go to during the time of the concert. We threw a few ideas out, but Sav had so far said that his parents weren't fun, didn't drink and wouldn't go to it in their life time. I sighed.

"Dude, do your 'rents do anything at all?" I said looking up at Sav from the floor. He shrugged. He looked back at his newspaper and murmured something before saying "This is perfect. It's for at least 4 or more hours." Adam looked over at the newspaper.

"Those tickets are 30 bucks." He stated.

"Well, we're each gonna have to chip in. So, I'll give my parents the tickets after school, snag my mom's extra set of keys, we'll meet at exactly 7:15, burrow the truck, see the show, drive back and park it _exactly _as we left it." Sav said and my mind was slightly boggling at the fact we have to be there at 7:15.

"We can do this." Eli said and I shook my head. "Wait, how are we going to get back home?" Sav looked at me and said "No one's gonna make it home if I don't get the car back to the parking spot. Be grateful." I sighed and said "Fine."

"Despite what my dad thinks, I deserve to have a little fun once in a while. We're doing it." Sav said and I looked up at the clock on the wall.

"Ok, cuties, off to class. I'm not gonna get in trouble for our scheming. I wanna get in trouble for being late." I said standing up. Adam laughed and said "So, you think I'm cute?" I smiled while walking over and ruffling his hair.

"You're adorable, kid." We all went our separate ways, heading off to class. The day ended fast and soon enough, there was new gossip going around. I heard Fiona has a pet pig and brought it to school. One of the weirdest things I've heard in a while, but whatever. Eli had left me home while I got ready (I was not about to go to a concert in what I was wearing _now_). I decided to wear my new clothes that I bought, since I didn't wear them yet. I looked on the couch and smiled at my outfit. 'Perfect. If I get lucky, I'll get pulled on stage.' I thought grabbing the clothes and running into the bathroom.

I walked over to where we were meeting and smiled at the expression on Sav's face. "Whoa." Was all he said to make Eli and Adam turn to me. I laughed as Adam dropped his phone in shock. Eli walked towards me and said "Um…Ghost…you look…" I stopped him and said "Save it. I know you've got the lopsided smirk for Saint Clare. But I also know that these heels weren't exactly made for walking, and I'm going nowhere with this." He laughed and Adam walked over to me, phone in his hand.

"You, look, hot." He said. I smiled at him and pinched his cheek, which was surprisingly soft. He slightly flinched, but I acted like I didn't notice.

"Adorable. Like a baby's ass." I said and I walked over to Sav in my ankle boots with a decorative lace on the front (Clare's words).

"Your sister's got me wearing these heels like they're comfortable." I said wincing at the pain. I dug through the bag I brought and took out my black converse with gold studs on the side.

"Thank the lord for sneakers." I said waving them in his face. He smiled and said "Well, if you're looking for a guy's attention, I think you just might get it." I grinned and yelled "Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" We all piled into the car after Adam had finished taking pictures of the car so we could remember to leave it the same way we found it. We drove off to the concert. I checked my outfit again and sighed. 'Stop being over dramatic, Ghost. It's a cute outfit. Alli picked it out especially for you.' I thought. I looked down at my off-white V-neck and dark skinny jeans. It had a tear in it when I fell trying to get them on. I stared out the window while I started to play with my drape-ish necklaces. I tugged on the sleeveless vest nervously and bit my lip.

"You look nervous. What's to be nervous about?" Adam asked from the seat next to me. I looked down and said "It's nothing. It's just…I have a bunch of guy friends and I don't even have a boyfriend. I sorta look down on myself for it." Adam patted my shoulder and said "I don't know a lot about you, but whatever guy that would turn down a date with you, would probably be an idiot." I smiled and gave him a quick side hug.

"Thanks Adam. You're like the third older brother I sorta always wanted." I said with a smile. I heard Eli groan from the passenger's seat.

"Ok, the love fest needs to stop." He stated and I laughed.

"Oh, Eli. Don't make me kick you where the sun don't shine with a high heeled boot. Not pretty. Maybe hot. But definitely not pretty." I said kicking the bag of his chair.

"Hey, hey. No kicking the chairs. You might leave a mark." Sav said from the driver's seat. "Besides, we're here." He parked in the parking lot (a duh) and we all entered from the backstage area. We showed the guards our passes and I gave the guy a wink before going in.

"Dude, this is totally insane! I totally owe you one!" Eli yelled over the music to Sav.

"Oh, you probably do stuff like this all the time!" Sav yelled back to him.

"You're kidding, right?" I yelled to him jumping up and down in my converse (I had to change because there was no way I was gonna be jamming in booties).

"Dude, my dad would never even let me think of even touching his car. Why do you think I have my own ride?" Eli said. Sav's face fell.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. So you mean I risked my ass for something you guys couldn't even do?" Sav asked disbelievingly.

"And that's why you're the man." Adam said reasurringly. Before Sav could say anything else, Bianca stumbled over to us, gripping onto his jacket.

"Whoa, school prez?" she slurred. She did a drunk laugh and said "I can't believe you're here. At school you're all…" She did a motion that showed sterness. I laughed and walked away slightly from the group. I bumped into someone and turned around quickly to apologize.

"Oh, sorry!" me and the person said at the same time. He looked down at me and I smiled. Blonde shaggy hair, grey eyes, and a band t-shirt. He had a small nose ring piercing that was very small, but still noticeable.

"It's cool. You made it backstage too, huh?" he said and I nodded, a smile still plastered on my face. I felt a weird warm feeling in my stomach and I felt my cheeks get hot.

"I'm…I'm…I'm Gabe." He stuttered out. I laughed and said "Like Saporta? From Cobra Starship?" He nodded and said "Yeah, they're one of my favorite bands."

"Mine too! I love their new album, but I'm still into the old one." I said and he smiled wider. I felt someone clear their throat behind me and I slowly turned around to face Eli.

"Hey, Eli. This, is Gabe." I said with a smile that said 'if you dare say something stupid, I'll rip your heart out' and he quickly caught on. Gabe waved slightly and Eli said "Hey. Nice to meet you. Did you guys just meet?" I turned to Gabe and said "Excuse me." He nodded with a smile and I turned back to Eli, dragging him to a quiet spot.

"Don't ruin this for me. I'm begging." I said grabbing his arm tight.

"I can't promise that, but I'll try to be nice. But I won't be on your case all night. I've got me a concert to enjoy." He said while walking away to go back to the group. I walked back to Gabe with a smile.

"Hey, you're back." He said and I laughed.

"Yeah, I'm back. So, you wanna just lean on the wall all night or watch the concert?" I asked smirking. He smirked back and said "I've got a pretty good sight on my eyes right now." I smirked while slightly grabbing his hand to pull him to the crowd. We all jammed during the night and when it was over, I had got Gabe's number. A was only a little pissed that Sav had got the drummer's sticks, but I could barely think about it.

"Ok, guys we gotta go. We might just make it in time." Sav said as Bianca leaned on his shoulder.

"Hey, can I get a ride with you guys?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah sure you can ride with us, but we have got to go now." Sav repeated as I heard the crowd sheer "ENCORE!" over and over again.

"I think there's gonna be and encore." Adam said. I rolled my eyes.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." I mumbled.

"Alright Hamilton, this Your Paisley Jacket!" the lead singer yelled. "This is my favorite song." Sav mumbled as the song started. We awaited our answer, but the look on Sav's face was answer enough. We all started singing the song's lyrics from the concert to on the road. It was totally crazy how off-key or on-key we were, but I found it a little boundish.

"Man, I can't believe we were backstage!" Sav yelled.

"Ok, guys, I hate to ruin the mood, but we've only got 20 minutes to get back and we're only half way." Eli stated and I groaned.

"Slight bit of a kill joy." I said and I gave me a look. I shrugged.

"Got it dude." Bianca said from next to me. She had her hands on Sav's shoulders and I could feel him tense up.

"Uh, no. I'm not about to speed." He said. I shook my head. 'It's a bad idea, but then again, if we don't make it back on time, we're all gonna have this on our butt's for life.' I thought.

"We're gonna make it." Adam said. Sav thought for a second before saying "Alright, alright. Everyone just be quiet. Got it?" He began to speed up and I went flying back. Bianca yelled out and Sav said "Just quit it." After a while, I started to see some of the things we passed before driving into Hamilton.

"How are we doing for time?" Sav asked, still keeping his eyes on the road.

"15 minutes." Eli said. I sighed and felt a shiver up my back.

"Uh oh." I said. Everyone except Sav turned to me.

"Uh oh what?" he asked before we started hearing police sirens.

"Cops!" Eli said. I groaned. 'I can't. No, I can't go back!' I thought, ducking down slightly.

"Once again, thanks Captain Obvious!" I said. I could tell Sav was starting to freak out.

"Ok…um…" he began saying but he couldn't finish because he was trying to stay focused but also trying to think of something to say to the cops.

"What do I do?"

"Floor it!" Bianca yelled from next to me. I covered my ears, but my heart kept thudding in my ears.

"Ok, I'm not gonna try to out run the cops!" Sav yelled.

"I can't get busted for drinking again!" she said. I kinda felt sorry for her. I was slightly happy that I wasn't crazy enough to say why I have to go back.

"Alright I'm gonna pull over. Everybody just shut up and act normal!" he yelled. I lifted my head up and tried to stay calm. After we pulled over, we waited. And waited. _And waited._ 'Slow ass cops.' I thought letting out a groan.

"God, what is taking them so long! Just give me the stupid speeding ticket already!" Sav yelled to the cops, who obviously couldn't hear him ranting.

"Who, cares. If he figures out I'm drunk, I'm gonna get a record, number three…" Bianca said. I felt like I wanted to kick her out of the truck right then and there, but that would cause attention, which I really didn't want right now. Plus, I don't kick out hung over people out of a truck that isn't mine.

"Ok, can you just shut you drunk ass up, for one second please?" he said. She immediately shut up. 'Please?' I thought raising an eyebrow.

"Ok, it's gonna be ok." Adam said.

"No, it's not ok-"

"You're gonna get outta this!" Eli yelled.

"No, I won't! I'm not some kind of cool guy that just gets away with stuff, ok? I'm a loser! I suck! I'm sitting here, I'm waiting for a speeding ticket, for which my parents are gonna kill me!" he yelled. My eyebrow raised more and I heard Bianca mumble "Five oh, five oh." I slowly slid in my seat as the cop came to Sav's window.

"Um, hey officer. Listen, I'm sorry and I'll never speed again."

"Would you step out the car please? This truck's been reported stolen." I could see the shocked look on Sav's face from the rearview mirror. 'Dammit.' I thought. I rather not replay the other scenes from that night. All I remember is that I made it back to Eli's house and passed out on the couch. I woke up the next day and noticed that Eli had left me to get up on my own. Again. I got dressed in some regular baggy jeans and a tank top with a hoodie and an old pair of Nikes. I quickly ran to school and found Eli and Adam talking. Adam was playing a bass guitar.

"What's her name? Or his name, I guess." I asked Adam. They both looked up strangely. "Your bass? You didn't name it?" He shook his head and I pushed Eli over so I could sit in between them. Just then my cell dinged. 'You wanna meet up later today?' I read in my head. It was from Gabe. I smiled. 'Sure.' I texted back. I closed my phone as Sav walked over to us. They had already started talking, but I was kinda zoned out that Gabe had even texted back.

"Dude, last night was epic. From the backstage passes to the cops to Bianca getting arrested." Eli said. I laughed. I zoned out again after that until I heard Adam say "Hey Sav. You're kinda our hero." Sav turned and said "Just shut up." I laughed and sighed to myself. 'Close call, Ghost. Keep up with this crowd and you'll be back to juvie before you know it.' My inner self said.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Srry it took long, but the i couldnt stop laughing wen i saw the lastest degrassi episode! "dude, she's dying!" *pause* *glare* "i mean she's hurting really bad." i'm soo gonna put dat in the storii wen i reach it!

Chapter 4

Damned for Greatness Pt. 1

For the rest of the day, my mind kept speaking to me, which made no sense. And then I had the most weirdest moments in class. Like every time when my voice started talking I'd yell out "Shut the hell up!" and my teacher would think I was talking to them. I've got detention for a week. After I made it to Eli's house, he asked me what was up. I said nothing and ran up to his room. He followed me up there and said "Ya know this is my room." I sat up from my spot on his bed.

"Sorry. I'll…go downstairs." I said standing up. I quickly walked out before he questioned me again. I ran downstairs and fell on the couch. 'What's wrong, Georgia? Have something to hide?' My inner voice said. I covered my face with a pillow and screamed. 'Why do you keep torturing me?' I thought. 'I'm your inner self. The part that you don't want to get out.' It said back to me. I groaned and thought 'Well quit because I'm never gonna go back to that.' I was starting to get a massive headache. I fell asleep minutes later and woke up two hours later. Eli nudged my shoulder and I smiled waking up.

"Dude, I feel so refreshed. I feel like I wanna run a marathon!" I said giving him a hug, which he stumbled back from.

"Are you okay? You seem…happier all of a sudden." Eli said pulling away. I stared at him before getting a dreamy look in my eyes.

"I gotta go. I'm meeting up someone. But don't worry, I won't do the on the first night." I said giving him a wink before grabbing a shirt, pants and sneakers and running up stairs. I changed fast and ran back down stairs out the door, then ran back inside.

"Hey, can I burrow-"

"NO."

"Ok, ok! Geez." I said running back out.

"Guess I'll just run to The Dot." I said to myself. I ran to The Dot fast and looked around for Gabe outside. He walked up to me from inside and said "Hey. You made it." I nodded and held my stomach.

"Hey I'm hungry so let's eat!" I said grabbing his arm to go inside. He laughed as I took a seat. My mind was soo out of my head that I couldn't even remember what happened during our little get together (I wasn't gonna call it a date if he wasn't). It's like I wasn't even talking…my inner self was. After the date, I had kissed Gabe on the cheek and said "I have to go. My brother's gonna get pissed that I'm even out this late." He nodded and said "We should do this again sometime. How about Saturday?" I smiled and said "It's a date." I walked out of The Dot waving and felt my feet stumbling. 'Oh god.' I thought leaning on a brick wall.

"Hey. I know you. You go to Degrassi right?" I heard someone ask. I looked up and saw Fitz. I started talking, but they were on deaf ears. Before I knew it, we were making out. I had pushed him off and whipped my mouth. He stumbled back. He pushed up against the wall and kissed me harder. I tried to push him away but he wouldn't let go. I punched his stomach and he stumbled into a garbage.

"You're crazy!" he said trying to stand up. I spit out his saliva from mouth and walked away. I checked my phone and it read "11:00 PM." I had 10 missed calls from Eli and 3 from Clare. I walked home, stumbling half the way, punching a few guys that wolf whistled at me and busted a few nuts while I was at it. I'm pretty tough for my 16 year old age. I knocked on the door of the house when I finally made it. Eli opened the door and pulled me inside.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he yelled at me. I snatched my hand away and walked over to the couch. I sat down as he continued to yell at me, but I just started dozing off. 'What's going on? Why am I acting…so differently? It's like…I'm a completely different person…' I thought. I felt tears start to come to my eyes.

"Ghost…Ghost, don't fall asleep!" Eli yelled and the inside of my head started pounding. I held onto it, trying to make it stop, but it just pounded harder. I let out a blood curling scream and fell to the ground. Eli picked me up and shook me.

"Ghost, what's wrong?" he yelled. I shook my head trying to back away. 'Looks like little Georgia's starting to lose her mind.' My inner voice said. I screamed again. Eli lifted me up and dragged me to Morty. I laid me down in the back. I was still screaming. 'He's not gonna dump me in the ocean is he?' I thought. 'If only.' My inner voice said. Eli drove to where ever we were going and finally stopped. He opened the back and carried me out. I stumbled as he put me down.

"Where are we?" I asked. My vision was really blurry so I couldn't see the lights of the building.

"The hospital."

"You're kidding right? Why are we at the hospital?" I asked. Did he think I was crazy or something?

"Ghost, you've been acting weird all day. I'm honestly scared for you, and I think I know what you have." Eli said dragging me towards the entrance.

"Oh yeah? What do I 'have?'" I asked him putting air quotes on have.

"I think you might have bipolar disease." I stiffened and felt a burning feeling go through my spine and my head. 'What?' I thought disbelievingly. I couldn't even concentrate. Eli was talking to the lady at the desk and I was waiting for him to finish. The lady led us to a doctor since the hospital was really empty at the moment. I sat down on the stretch out chair thing. The doctor came in a few minutes later. I still couldn't believe that I was even here. Eli was gonna be so dead after this.

"Ok, Georgia. We're just gonna do a quick physical exam and see if there's anything wrong." The doctor said. I nodded and said "Yeah. Am I gonna be able to go back to school in the morning?" He laughed.

"That's a first. But, I'm sure you'll be able to go back to school tomorrow. I'll just ask you a few questions." 'Oh boy.' I thought. "How has your mood been lately?"

"It's been…ok, but yesterday I was really stressed. I almost got arrested. Again." I stated and I saw from the corner of my eye Eli look up and give me a surprised look.

"My parents…they aren't together. And my dad had left us. Um…since today, I was kinda happy, then I was really mad because there's this voice that keeps going off in my head. Telling me that my old self is gonna take over. When she says it, I don't know if she's telling the truth, or she's just bluffing. But I know what she means when she says it."

"What does she mean?" the doctor asked, writing all of this down.

"She means that I'm gonna go back to the way I used to be. A known criminal like my dad." I said. The doctor nodded and asked "Did your parents recently have any kind of illness? Or maybe have bipolar disorder?" I shook my head. My parents didn't have anything wrong with them. Besides my dad's drinking, but that's not an illness, I don't think. The doctor sighed.

"Well, we'll figure out if you have bipolar disorder when we finish running the tests. But it'll take a while, so you can go home and wait for the hospital to call. We'll call in about…12, 13…" he didn't finish.

"Hours?" I asked. "Days?" Eli commented. "Yeah, definitely 13." I rolled my eyes and threw my hands up.

"So, can she go?" Eli asked. The doctor nodded.

"Yes, she can go." The doctor said and I quickly hopped out of the chair and walked out. Eli trailed behind me.

"I cannot believe you." I said walking outside to Morty.

"I'm sorry, but it was for your own good. What else was I supposed to do?" Eli said. I ignored him as I opened the door to Morty roughly. He gave me a glare when we were both inside. I stared back.

"Sorry, Morty." I mumbled as Eli started the car. He drove all the way home and when we made it, I sat down on the couch. He sat down next to me and said "I'm not talking to you. And before you make a snarky comment, I'm only talking to you to say I'm not talking to you. Starting now." I pushed him off the couch and rested my head on one side while putting my feet up on the other end. I heard him walk up a few steps and a door close. I sighed to myself as I fell asleep. My dream was pretty weird.

"_Get out of my freakin' head!" I yelled to my inner self. We were both in a black room of nothingness, and she looked nothing like me. She had light brown hair, without a bang, unlike mine that was dark brown with a darker black streak and a bang right above my eyes._

"_What are you gonna do about it, Ghost? Fight me? I'm you, so beating me up will be like beating yourself up." She said flipping her hair. I walked up to her and punched her. She fell back and glared at me._

"_You're lucky I wasn't wearing the spiked bracelet." I said. She punched me in the stomach and I felt my lungs lose air for a second. I stomped on her foot and put both of my hands together, swinging them into her face._

"_Just give up, and go haunt someone else. There's a douche bag that goes to school that probably deserves this more than me." I said putting my foot on her chest so she couldn't get up. She grabbed my foot and threw me down, me laying on my stomach. She grabbed my hair and turned my head sideways._

"_I'll think about your offer, thought about it, no." she said. I grabbed the hand she was using to hold my hair and twisted it. She yelled out in pain and I turned around on my back and threw her down next to me.I quickly got up and started to twist her arm. She continued to yell in pain._

"_Now, how about that offer?" I asked twisting her arm more and pulling on it. She didn't say anything and I continued to pull. After a few seconds, I heard a pop sound and let go. Her arm was dislocated from her shoulder and I kneeled down to her level._

"_That's what you get when you mess me. It was nice meeting you." I said._

I woke up with Eli nudging my shoulder and telling me to get up.

"You might hate me, but I still have to get you up. Come on and get in the shower." He said. I rubbed my eyes and stood up, grabbing my stuff and taking it in the bathroom. I quickly changed into a grey t-shirt, black jacket and black skinny jeans with booties. I stepped out of the bathroom and grabbed my spiked bracelet. I put it on my right wrist and a chain bracelet on the other. I grabbed my book bag and walked outside. Eli was waiting for me, blasting his kind of music. I entered the car and looked over at him.

"I'm sorry." I said and he turned to me. "You were right to take me to the hospital. For all we know, I could have some sort of bipolar disease. And I'm glad that you were there with me."

"It's cool. Now, let's go before something stupid happens and we might regret it." He said starting Morty up. I laughed as I rolled the window down. We drove to Degrassi in a matter of minutes, after we picked up Adam.

"Oh, Degrassi. If only you knew the things that happened in your halls." I said and Eli and Adam laughed. We drove into the parking lot and Fitz and his little crew were in the parking space Eli was going to. 'Oh god. I'm gonna have to bust something else today.' I thought as Eli stopped in front of them.

"Excuse me, but can you move?" Eli asked to them as he poked his head out the window. I bounced my leg impatiently, waiting for them to move, but I was guessing they weren't. 'God, don't make me.' I thought starting to tap my finger against the car door.

"What's wrong with you?" Eli asked angrily. Fitz walked up to Morty and snatched the skull off the hood. I got out of the car and I can honestly say that if this was a TV show, the first thing you would've saw was my heel. I walked up to him and was about to say something when Eli yelled "Destroy my car over a freaking parking spot!" I saw Adam get out and walk behind him. I glared at Fitz as he said "Aww, want a tissue?"

"You're gonna need more than a tissue when I'm through with you." I said. He smirked at me. He grabbed my chin and tilted it up. I started to clench my teeth and my fists. "You're not back for more are you? I don't go for girls that throw themselves at-" He didn't finish because I spat in his face. He let me go, sorta tossing my head to the side. I smiled and said "Guys like you? I guess that you're just not worth it." He glared at me while whipping his face off. His sight turned back over to Eli and Adam.

"What the hell are you looking at?" he asked Adam.

"Trying to figure that out." Adam said and I smiled. Fitz glared at all of us and then slowly walked away, his crew following. He had tossed the skull over to the side and I picked it up. I looked at it and said "I don't even wanna touch it since he touched it. You want it back?" He was still glaring in the direction of Fitz. I walked up to him and grabbed his arm.

"Come on, before we're late." I said walking towards the school. A lot of people were staring at me, probably because they could barely recognize me. Eli saw Clare and had walked toward her. I smiled at them and thought 'Well aren't they just cute.' I heard a random guy wolf whistle at me and I smiled. The attention was sickening, but I kinda liked it.

"Who is that? She looks hot!" someone said. I just laughed and finally made it to my locker. I spun in the combination, but I didn't get it open when Adam had got pushed into a locker._ Hard._ I saw Eli and Clare right around the corner and Eli have that look on his face from earlier. Fitz held Adam up against the locker and I tried to get him off. He finally let go and smirked as Adam tried to get himself together.

"Figure out what you're looking at?" he asked Adam.

"Still trying to figure out the smell." Adam snarled. I tried not to laugh at this bad situation. I was just about to put my hands around Fitz's neck when someone held my arms behind my back.

"Hey let me-" I said but the person had just started to drag me back, farther down the hall to the point where I couldn't hear what was going on, I could only see. I saw Eli get in Fitz's face and Clare looked scared as hell. If only I could do something. The person turned me around and I punched them dead in the face.

"Oww! What was that for?" the person asked. I stepped back, getting ready to punch the person again, but I noticed who it was.

"Sav? What the hell dude?"

"Sorry, but it looked like you were about to rip Fitz's head off." Sav commented, rubbing his nose.

"Well I was. No one messes with Adam and gets away with it." I said. I mean who messes with 10th graders? That's just wrong.

"Look, you can't go over there and fight him. You're just gonna get hurt and in trouble." He said still holding his nose. I thought for a second as I watched a crowd gather around where I was. I turned to him and asked "So what's the real reason you pulled me back?" He gave me a questioning look and then sighed.

"The office has a call for you about something important." He said and I thought for a second before murmuring "The results…dammit."

"What?" Sav asked and I started walking backwards to the office.

"Tell Eli that I'll kick Fitz's ass later!" I yelled before turning around to run to the office.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: ok who else cried when eli almost got stabbed! god, i wanna ram fitz face into a wall and then a wood chipper!

Chapter 5

Damned for Greatness Pt. 2

I finally made it to the office and saw Ms. Davidson, the receptionist, who had a phone to her ear.

"Ah, Ms. Giovanni. Phone from Dr. Lasenbyrg." I laughed at the name as I took the phone.

"Hello?" I greeted, twirling the phone cord between my fingers. I quickly stopped and started tapping my fingers against the desk.

"Ms. Giovanni, we have the results of your physical exam. Would you like us to tell you over the phone or would you rather have you come to the hospital?" I thought for a second and said "I'll come over there after school. I'm going to need someone's support."

"Ok then. Nice speaking to you." He said and I smiled a small smile, even though he couldn't see it.

"Yeah. Same here. Bye Dr. Lasenbyrg." I said and hung the phone up. I gave it back to Ms. Davidson and I walked out. The halls were cleared out with no sign of blood (thank god). I tried to put on my best smile as I walked into class.

Class ended in a matter of minutes, but only because I was half paying attention. I was doodling in my book with the sharpie I stole from Eli. He's right, it is fun. I had started drawing an eyeball…but then stopped when I realized what I was drawing. 'What the hell.' I thought looking at my book, not paying attention to where I was going. You'd think I would've knocked down some cute guy by now, right? Well you thought wrong. I've known these halls for a while now, and I already know all the corners, classrooms and snack machines. I was able to make it to my next class while drawing parts of my 'eye' before I made it in. I sat down in my usual seat a few rows in the front, like in the middle. 'What period is this, English?' I thought looking up. I saw Eli come in, sitting down next to me.

"Enjoying yourself there?" he asked smirking. I was kinda surprised that he even said anything to me since him and Fitz's little confrontation this morning. I looked down and said "Is that a snarky comment I hear?" He laughed. He looked over at what I was drawing and said "Wow. That's deep."

"Gee, thanks. So, what's your plan?" I asked. He gave me a confused look. "What plan?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Please, I know you have some devious plan of getting back at Fitz. And I want in." I continued drawing my eye and sighed. 'I should've done this with a pencil.' I thought. I heard Eli sigh and I turned to him.

"Ok. So I have a plan. But I don't think-" he stopped when the class had started coming in and giving him looks.

"What are you looking at?" I yelled at them. They quickly looked away, sitting in their seats. Eli gave me a look that said 'thanks' and I nodded. Class had started and I tried my hardest to pay attention. I wrote notes, fell asleep, woke up when Eli kept poking me with his sharpie, and then class was almost done, so I just wrote down what he showed me and when class was over, I just walked out. I couldn't even think of what I had next period until Eli walked up to me, throwing an arm over my shoulder.

"Did you hear anything I just said?" he asked. I shook my head, not even hearing what he said just now. If I started stumbling, people will think I'm drunk. He sighed and said "I pretty much just explained my whole plan to get back at Fitz. Thanks for asking." I sighed and said "Sorry, I'm kinda out of it. The doctor called and said they have the results of my physical exam. And I'm kinda scared to figure out what it says. I mean, what if I am bipolar?" We both sat down in our seats as the class started to come in. He passed me a note, right before the teacher had passed by our tables. I read in my head 'Don't worry. I'll be with you every step of the way. When can you come in? To the hospital that is.' I laughed out loud and everybody, including the teacher, turned to me. Eli had a smile on his face, trying not to laugh. My cheeks turned pink as the teacher glared at me asking "Something funny, Ms. Giovanni? How about you share the joke?" I nodded slightly, standing up.

"Um. I have…or at least I think I might…bipolar disease." I stated and everyone stared at me wide eyed.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that's very funny." The teacher said with a straight face. I shrugged.

"Maybe not to you. But I think it's hilarious. Besides, I'm not lying."

"That's enough, Ms. Giovanni, sit down."

"She's telling the truth." Eli said standing up. All eyes scrolled from me to him. I turned and smiled.

"Well. I guess, I can excuse from doing any work today." The teacher said, trying to show that she wasn't affected by this. I gave her a look.

"Wait. You believe him. But not me." I said disbelievingly.

"Well of course. How am I supposed to believe you when you could possibly be bipolar? You could've been joking, for all I know." I rolled my eyes and sat back down.

"Bitch." I murmured to Eli who only smiled. I continued drawing my eye through class. I got bored and started to draw the same thing but with a pencil. It looked a _whole_ lot better. Class ended fast and I hurried to wherever I had to go. The day went by and I could barely focus on what happened throughout the day. I walked to my locker, trying to keep my eyes open. I don't even think it was because I was tired, I think it's just because I wanted to drop dead because I was scared to figure out what my results said. I opened my locker, throwing my unneeded books in it. I took out the eye I drew and pinned it up on my locker. I closed my locker and jumped at Eli standing right behind it.

"Ready to go?" he asked. I nodded, feeling my hand start to shake. He noticed and grabbed onto it tight. I looked up at him and he smiled down at me. I smiled back as we walked to the hearse. He opened the door for me and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't try to act like a gentleman, Dr. Doom." I said when he got in. He laughed, starting the engine. I put in my ear buds and started blasting 30 Seconds to Mars. They were a favorite of the moment. The song seemed to match how everything was happening. 'Thank the lord for Closer to The Edge.' I thought

"_No I'm not saying, I'm sorry. One day, maybe we'll meet again. No I'm not saying I'm sorry. One day, maybe we'll meet again. No, no, no, no!" _I sang and I could see Eli glance over at me a couple of times as I continued. Singing was a hobby to me, and I wasn't saying I was great at it. I was saying I was awesome at it. I can do a whole lot, stuff that people don't know about. Like how I can play the electric pretty good, but I decided not to. We finally made it to the hospital, about right after I replayed the song twice. I didn't sing it again, my throat started to hurt. Plus, I had just got a huge lump in it. Eli stopped the car and turned to me.

"When did you start singing again?" he asked and I turned to him, slightly embarrassed.

"I didn't exactly stop." I confessed and he laughed slightly. "Well you're really good. If not, better." I grinned and said "Thanks, man. Now come on. We've got something to do." He nodded, both of us getting out of the car. We walked towards the hospital doors and I felt my heart thudding in my ears. I watched as Eli had talked to the lady at the front desk just like yesterday and she told us that we could go in. I sat down in the stretch out chair as Eli sat in the other one across from me near the door. I sighed, taping the arm rest impatiently. Eli immediately noticed.

"Do you always do that?" I looked over to him.

"Do what?" He pointed to my tapping fingers. I looked at them and then looked at him strangely.

"Um…you are so…peculiar sometimes." I laughed. He smiled. Him and smiling nowadays. "Well I got you to loosen up and laugh." Mr. Lasenbyrg walked in and it immediately became quiet.

"Ok. We have the results, right here." He said holding up a file with a tab sticking out, my last name then first name on it. I gave him a small smile.

"Lay it on me." I said and opened the file. He looked at it for a second and then looked up to me. He looked back down. Then back up. Down. Up. Down. Up. 'Holy bejeezus just get on with it!' I thought angrily, it showing on my face.

"You don't have bipolar disease-" I cheered.

"YES! HALLELUJAH, THANK THE LORD!" I yelled, throwing my hands up in the air, standing on the seat and Eli tried not to laugh, even though it looked like he was about to burst. Mr. Lasenbyrg stared at me and I quickly sat back down, my hands going down with me.

"Sorry." I said quietly, smiling. Mr. Lasenbyrg looked back down at my files and sighed.

"But I'm afraid that you may have Type 1 Diabetes." The doctor said and my face fell. Eli's probably did too, but I couldn't even look at him right now. After a minute of silence, Mr. Lasenbyrg started laughing. I shared a look with Eli that said 'this guy is crazy and he's gonna kill us.'

"Calm down, Georgia. I'm just kidding." I sighed and slightly laughed. 'Dude, not funny.' I thought, still smiling. The doctor's face fell again and he said "Or at least you might." My face fell again and I groaned.

"Dammit, man, do I have it or not? And don't fuck with me!" I yelled and he backed up a little.

"Well, it seems that your mother has had diabetes in the past, so we assume that you may have it. But we won't be positive until we run a few more tests." He answered and I leaned back in my chair.

"You mean screens?"

"Excuse me?"

"You mean screens instead of tests? That's the correct word for it." I said, looking over to him. He thought for a second and said "Well. I guess it is." I gave him a smirk and he composed himself asking "So, we'll run a few…screens…tomorrow morning. Sorry, but you'll have to miss school. Is that ok with you?" I turned to Eli and he shook his head. 'Test tomorrow.' He mouthed and I looked back up to Mr. Lasenbyrg.

"I can…not do it tomorrow. I'm very busy. How about Friday?" I asked. He nodded and said "Ok, your appointment time is 7:00 AM. And then you'll take a second one the next day."

"Great." I said and stood up, before he gave me an appointment slip. I stood up and walked out the door, Eli trailing behind.

"Well. You don't have bipolar disease!" Eli yelled happily. I smiled and said "Yeah I know!" We both hugged and what I did next kinda surprised me and him both. I had kissed him directly on the lips. Like, jeez, was I on drugs! I pulled away quickly and stared at him in shock, who only just stared back.

"Um. I'm gonna act like that didn't happen." He said and I nodded, a smile creeping on my lips, turning into a giggle fit.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"When you blush, your ears turn all red and heated. It's kinda cute. In a sisterly way, of course." I said, still giggling between words. He blushed again, which made his ears turn red again. I giggled a little more and grabbed my arm, dragging me to Morty. I opened the door, starting to stop my constant giggling. He got in the car and started the engine, his ears still red.

"Ya know, I noticed that your ears turn red when you talk to Clare, or even when you're around her. Except it's much, much darker." He glared at me and I just smiled, looking out the window. I was taking the possible diabetes thing pretty well, surprisingly. I guess knowing that I didn't have bipolar disease kinda made me think that if I didn't have that, it's impossible for me to get diabetes. But, I know that was a total piece of shit. Anyone can get diabetes, just like how everybody could get shot. Not the best thing to compare to, I know. The car came to a stop and I looked out the window to notice that we were in front of the house. 'I didn't even notice he started the car.' I thought getting out. He was already at the door, holding it open for me. I walked inside, him following behind me.

"So, what's the homework?" I asked hands on hips. "You mean getting back at Fitz?" he asked.

"Sure?" I said confusingly. I was actually talking about the homework. Oh well. I felt my bag vibrate and quickly took it from out of my bag.

"Hello?" I asked not even checking caller ID.

"Sup Ghost." I heard Gabe's voice from the other line and smiled. I held my finger up to Eli before he started talking and waved my hand to him, showing him to go upstairs. He rolled his eyes and walked upstairs. I sat down on the couch and replied "Hey Gabe. What's up?"

"I was just wondering, you wanna go on a date tonight?" he asked. I felt my heartbeat speed up. I've never met a more straight forward guy like him.

"Uh…yeah! Sure! I'd love to." I said enthusiastically. I heard him laugh and said "Great! So, where do you wanna go?"

"As long as I'm with you, I don't care if I'm at the bottom of the ocean." I said. I quickly covered my mouth, and I heard laughing come from upstairs. I quickly turned towards them and saw Eli quickly run back upstairs.

"Do you wanna go there?" Gabe asked sarcastically. I laughed and said "Yeah, let me just get my bathing suit."

"I can imagine that." He said and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Shut up! Seriously though, just pick me up at my house and you'll pick the place. Just make sure you get me home by 10:00." I said kicking my feet up on the couch.

"It's a date. See you tonight."

"See you tonight." I hung up the phone and sighed dreamily before running up the stairs and banging on Eli's door. He opened it slightly and I pushed it open wider.

"Invasion of privacy?" he said sitting on his bed.

"Says the guy who eavesdropped on my phone conversation." I said smirking.

"So what's up?"

"I've got a date." He stared at me and then said "No seriously." I punched his shoulder and said "No really, Gabe's taking me out. And I want you to meet him." He stared at me for a minute until he laughed.

"Dude what am I your dad?" he asked still laughing. My face fell and he immediately stopped laughing.

"I didn't mean it like that, Ghost."

"No just forget it. I shouldn't have asked." I said walking towards the door. I turned back around to glare at him before walking out, slamming the door behind me. I walked downstairs and felt my phone buzz on the coffee table. I picked it up and answered an angry "What?"

"Um, hi to you too, Ghost." I heard Clare from the other end. I sighed and said "Sorry, I'm just pissed."

"Why? What happened?" she asked.

"Eli said something that ticked me off. Typical." I answered while digging through my bag, looking for some sneakers.

"Well he probably didn't mean it."

"You're just saying that because you love him." I said laughing.

"I do not! We're English partners and that's it!" she yelled. I rolled my eyes and said "Yeah, and Fitz is a saint!" I heard her laugh.

"Good one. But seriously, I'm sure it just slipped out." She assured. I sighed, looking up at the steps and saying "Maybe you're right. But I'm not talking to him when Gabe gets here."

"Gabe? Who's Gabe?" she asked suspiciously. I cursed under my breath. I forgot to tell Clare and Alli about Gabe.

"Um. He's this guy that I met at a concert. We hit it off immediately and he's taking me out tonight. And before you say anything, I'm sorry didn't tell you, but I didn't tell Alli either!" I said beginning to pace.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me! I'm not mad or anything, I'm just a little…stressed. My parents have been fighting still and it's freaking me out."

"Yeah, Eli told me. But you live with your parents." I said pausing to look at my book bag. I opened it and took out my homework.

"Wait, what do you mean by that? You don't live with your parents?" she asked and I cursed under my breath again. Geez, what else have I not told Clare and Alli?

"I mean…I've been living with Eli…for the past few weeks. My mom had a business trip. She won't be back in like 3 months." I lied. Or at least half lied. I mean, I have been living with Eli. And my mom is on a business trip. Her business is her business and that business just happened to send her away. I just don't know when she'll be back. I didn't hear Clare reply back after a while and said "Clare? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. You've been living with Eli?" she asked and I nodded, but then remembered that I was talking to her over the phone and said "Yeah. Why? Mad I'm living with your future husband?" I laughed when she replied with a quick "NO!"

"Look, I've got tons of homework, so I gotta go work on it. And beg Eli to help me with it. Talk later?"

"Yeah. We'll talk later. Bye Ghost." She said in a slightly sad tone.

"Bye Clare." I hung up the phone and put it in my pocket. I dropped my homework on the couch and kneeled down in front of it. I glared at it for a moment until I heard footsteps come down the stairs. I looked over at Eli and he looked over at me before saying "Sorry." I stared wide eyed in shock. 'Didn't see that coming.' I thought standing up, dropping my book. I quickly picked it up and gave him a small smile.

"It's cool, dude. It came out and you couldn't stop it. But I can honestly say that it will come to bite you in the ass in the future." I smirked. He smirked back and walked over to me, hands in his pockets.

"So, can I still meet Gabe?" he asked, clearing a few things off the couch before sitting down.

"Help me with my homework and I'll think about it."

After about 2 hours, we were done with our homework and the bell rang. I stood up quickly, excited and saw Eli give me a look and walk over to the door. I followed him, trying not to seem too excited. He opened the door and I smiled at Gabe. I was too speechless to say anything.

"Hey Ghost. And Eli." Gabe said, still standing in his spot.

"Sup, Gabe. Now let's get one thing straight and one thing only," Eli started and rolled my eyes. "You get her home by 10:00 PM, not AM. You get her home at 10:01, you're gonna end up in the back of my hearse, got it?" Eli finished. Gabe quickly nodded his head and Eli smiled.

"Great. Have a good time, Ghost!" Eli said giving me a pat on the back. I walked outside and closed the door. I looked up at Gabe and mouthed, "I'm sorry." He gave me a strange look and asked "Why are you-" "He's still at the door." I cut him off. I put my hand on the door, and banged on it hard.

"Ow!" Eli yelled out. I smiled and grabbed Gabe's arm as we started walking from the house.

"So, where to?" I asked smiling up at him. He smiled back and said "I'd say it's a surprise, but that seems so cliché. So, I'll tell you now that we're going to this awesome club." I looked forward until asking "If there's drinking, then I can't go. I don't drink." He laughed and said "Please, I can be classy when I want to. No drinking, trust me."

"Ok. Onwards to this date." I said as we continued to walk. After about 10 minutes of walking, we finally made it. And I quickly felt like a dumbass.

"Above The Dot? You've gotta be kidding me." I said as we waited in line to get in.

"What, you've been here before?" Gabe asked and I scoffed.

"That would be an understatement." I said as we entered the club. We danced all night, and talked for the other half. He even told me about his family. I obviously didn't tell him about mine. Or at least the truth. I just told him the story I told Clare. And I wouldn't dare mention the bipolar disease/diabetes issue. Only because I barely knew about it myself. Note to self: look up symptoms of diabetes when I get home. After about an hour, I looked at my cell phone and saw the clock read 9:45.

"Ok, time to go." I said grabbing Gabe's arm and dragging him to the exit. We began walking back home, in a non-awkward silence. We made it to the front of the house and I turned to him, smiling.

"Well. I'll call you." I said in a soft tone(don't get used to it). He smiled and leaned down to put a kiss on my lips until I saw car lights flash across the house. 'Eli.' I thought angrily. I gave Gabe a weak smile before slowly leaving a kiss on his lips, just so he'll be able to last a few days. As I saw him walk away, I couldn't help but feel my ears start to get hot.

"And you talk about me." Eli said, turning Morty off and opening the house door. I rolled my eyes, a smile still on my face. Tonight was a very good night.

I stepped out of Morty and followed Eli as he ran up to the fence to talk to Clare. I didn't pay attention to his conversation, but I could make out bits of it. Clare was begging Eli to apologize to Fitz. Which he shouldn't do but was going to anyway.

"Hate to interrupt but I see Alli, so I'm gonna say hi." I said walking away. I smiled at Alli and she smiled back.

"Hey, haven't seen you in a while. I feel so isolated." She said and I laughed.

"Don't miss me too much. Did Clare tell you?" I asked and she nodded smirking.

"So, you and Eli…are…"

"Just friends and sorta siblings." I said and she nodded.

"Right. Besides, Clare's got dibbs." I chuckled at her immaturity. I turned to Eli and Clare for a quick second just to see Fitz kick him…somewhere I honestly don't wanna talk about. I ran over to them and kneeled down next to Eli.

"Do you want me to do something?" Clare asked.

"Don't. Touch anything." He breathed out, holding tight. I stood and walked over to Fitz yelling "Hey!"

"This, is what a girl feels like." I said before quickly punching him where the sun don't shine. He yelled out in pain and fell to the ground.

"I'd hate to be the girl that had sex with you. She probably got pissed 'cause you couldn't handle it." I smirked and walked over to Eli saying a "Your welcome." Before I walked up the stairs of the school, I turned back and glared at Fitz still on the floor and then walked inside.

The day ended quickly, just like any other. Me and Eli went to The Dot to chill with Adam and you wouldn't believe who was there. Like I swear the dude's a stalker. We walked over to Adam and I sat down next to him while they talked. I didn't notice I stopped paying attention until I felt Peter's hand slam against the table. I glanced up quickly and he gave me a strange look.

"Are you ready to order?" he asked. I said "Coffee. That's it." He nodded and walked away to the coffee machine. I turned around and saw Eli giving Fitz a fake ID. I was confused, and I still didn't understand it. After I got my coffee, I told Eli that I'd meet him at home and walked out. I sipped my coffee and spit it out. 'I don't even drink this stuff.' I thought taking another sip. I gagged as I continued to walk.

The next day, the same thing. Eli was being nice to Fitz, giving him another fake ID, and I continued to watch, trying to see what he was planning. But every time I thought of something, I ended up at a dead end. I completely lost it when Fitz had greeted me, Eli and Clare with a "What's up brother? Sister?" I looked at him confusingly but didn't say anything.

"Dude, am I missing something?" I asked. He shook his head and I rolled my eyes, dazedly walking to my locker. I opened it and sighed. 'Geez, life is soo boring. I'm just waiting for someone to shake it up.' I thought. Me and Eli had parked in front of The Dot, skipping English today, and he turned down the radio.

"So, I know you have a plan. But you never told me." I stated and he looked outside his window and smirked.

"You'll figure it out soon enough. Follow my lead." He said getting out of the car. I followed in suit as he walked across the street near an alley. He looked over at the building next to The Dot and smirked, noticing Fitz walking out. He took out his cell phone and his wallet. He handed me a twenty and said "Be back here in five minutes." I gave him a look, but he didn't look back as he approached Fitz as he walked across the street. I shook my head, not even paying attention to them. I walked into the building next to us and noticed it was a jewelry store. I couldn't help but feel weird walking in here. I'm not the usual one to look at gold and drool over it. I liked silver better. After about five minutes, I walked back outside and looked to my left, but didn't see Eli. I heard trashcans hitting the pavement and groaned. 'Dear God, please don't make me kill somebody today. Amen.' I prayed as I walked into the alley. I gasped at the site of Fitz beating up Eli.

"Hey, back off!" I yelled trying to pry Fitz off of him, but he continued to punch. I knocked him back and tried to stand Eli up but he whispered "No! Don't get into this!" I gave him a confused look but couldn't reply when Fitz pushed me out of the way into a wall. I tried to steady myself as I heard something that made me wanna run: cop cars. I turned to Eli as Fitz punched him again before noticing the cop car stroll into the alley. Eli held onto Fitz leg, making sure he wouldn't get away. I stared in shock, looking from the cops to Eli and Fitz and then back to the cops. 'No, Eli! He's gotta be kidding!' I thought disbelievingly. I saw a two police officers step out of the car yelling "Stay where you are!" I watched as they pressed us against the wall, looking for our wallets. I felt myself hyperventilating but I don't think Fitz or Eli noticed.

"Looks bad for you." I heard Fitz say as one of the cops pull out our wallets. I continued to listen, just like I always did.

"Why is that?" Eli asked, a little blood dripping from his lip.

"The fake ID. When they see mine, they'll let me go. I don't know about you." Fitz replied and I felt my eyes go wide in shock and realization.

"Guess so." Eli said smirking. 'Eli gave Fitz the fake ID so he called the cops in advance so that when Fitz started beating Eli up, he'll look like the bad guy.' I thought. I closed my eyes as I started to breath out. After a while the police officer said "Ok, son, your clean." She was referring to Eli. He took his hands down from the wall. She tapped my shoulder and said "You too, hun." I nodded, not even looking up.

"You. We're taking you downtown." The officer said to Fitz pulling his hands back and putting on handcuffs.

"Wait, why? I didn't do anything!" Fitz ranted while the officer put him in the back of the cop car. He looked at the both of us from the window of the backseat and Eli had just stared while I glared. The cop car drove away and I let out the breath I was holding, pushing my hair back.

"Well. That went well." Eli said smiling devilishly. I started to pace and held onto my head, feeling a headache coming on.

"That went well! You just got Fitz arrested and for what! And why didn't you just tell me the plan earlier instead of making it a _huge_ surprise! I almost lost it just now, Eli. They could've took me in." I yelled.

"Ok, one, I got him arrested because when someone messes with my friends and me, I'm not just gonna stand around and take it! Two, I didn't tell you because every time I tried, you had to do something. Specifically saying not my fault! And three, they wouldn't have took you in. You've never done anything bad, they only take in people with records!" he said and I shook my head, feeling the truth starting to boil over.

"Well I'm one of those people!" I yelled out and it immediately got quiet. All you could hear were the alley rats scurrying to wherever. Eli stared in shock and confuse. I felt hot tears come to my face as he walked closer.

"When we graduated from the 8th grade, we lost contact. We stopped emailing, we stopped texting, everything. And I didn't take it well! My mom was going through a rough time just trying to feed me something every day! I thought that the only way to get money, was to rob someone. So I did. What happens? I get caught! I end up in juvie for a month. It would've been longer if my aunt wouldn't have bailed me out. After that, I didn't do anything else…horrible. I moved with my aunt for a while in Brooklyn. Bedstuy. The people I hung out with, they weren't exactly great. My cousin got me hooked to the life and I didn't want out. I wasn't in any gang, my aunt would have my head if I did. And then my cousin, I tried to deal with the fact that she was gone in a matter of seconds. How do you think I feel, knowing that your cousin died? Just over a drive-by! I may have got hit, but I didn't die! And then you, you just try to get payback at Fitz, right? Well let me say something. Payback will get you nowhere if you don't have a life to live." I ranted and I felt my throat tighten up. My story was sappy but it was true. I did move to Brooklyn for a while. And my cousin did die from a drive-by on the block. And I did get hit. It was in the shoulder, so I didn't die, or whatever. The only thing I didn't tell Eli was that I wanted payback on who did it. Someone gave me a gun, but I was too scared to do it. I didn't want my life to go down the toilet for killing someone. I wouldn't be able to cope. So I moved back to Canada and lived with mom, where the rest of life was fine. Eli was at a loss for words. I shook my head and turned around, walking away from the scene. I walked all the way back home, not caring if Eli followed me or not. I didn't care that I missed the rest of school. When I made it back, I had laid on the couch and fell asleep, trying not to think about all that I confessed. Man, was tomorrow gonna be worse. I've done a lot of bad things in my lifetime, I can't do another.

A/N: Whoa, didnt see that comin did ya? Review pwese!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Srry I havent been posting lately, I've been crying due to loss of degrassi episodes. but since skool starts tomorrow, my friends will help me get over the loss!

Chapter 6

My Body Is Cage, So Of Course You Can't Enter

I woke up startled as the book, hit the desk. I looked up at the teacher, shocked.

"Ms. Giovanni, class is over." She said walking to her desk. I looked at my clothes. The same thing I wore when Fitz got arrested. I rolled my eyes and dropped my head on the desk. 'You're fucking kidding me. All of that was a dream!' I thought to myself standing. I walked out of the classroom and put a hand to my head. 'I must've zoned out from the pressure and during class…but then that means I never told Eli…' I thought. Then again, half the things I said weren't true. Yes, I did get shot, and yes, I did move to Brooklyn for a while. NOT Bedstuy, a different part. But I didn't rob anybody, that's not the reason I went to juvie. The reason is-

"Hey, are you okay?" I heard Eli say from behind me, a hand going to my shoulder, ruining my train of thought. I jumped, turning to him and sighing.

"Don't do that." I strained out, continuing to walk.

"Sorry. But when Fitz got arrested, you looked really pissed when we got back." He said and I shook my head barely remembering what happened.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I just…got a lot going on." I said trying to avoid the rest of the questions he threw at me. I couldn't help but finally crack at him yelling "ELI! Can you just stop, for like a second! I don't need your bombarding questions right now!" He stared at me in shock and I turned to look at the few people who saw that. I shook my head and walked away, right out the school doors. I couldn't deal with anybody right now. I had walked all the way home, and had fell asleep right on the couch. A half an hour later, I woke up with Eli staring at me. I screamed and sat up quickly, as he backed up from my scream.

"Dude! Why are you staring me down?" I asked cautiously.

"You were sweating and mumbling something. I couldn't hear you so I got closer." He replied with a shrug. I rolled my eyes and stood up. He sat down next to me and looked at me. I looked back and said "What?"

"You wanna tell me something?" he asked. It wasn't really in the form of a question, more of a statement.

"Look, I know Fitz is a bad guy, but you shouldn't mess with him. It's not gonna be good when someone gets hurt." I said in a serious tone. His face turned grim and I hopped he wouldn't spaz out or something.

"Whatever he gets, he deserves. But maybe you are right."

"So you won't mess with him?"

"I didn't say that. I won't mess with him for a while, but only because you and Clare told me to." He answered standing up. I watched as he walked up to his room, slammed the door and started blasting Dead Hand loudly. I sighed and shook my head.

The next day, me and Eli walked up to Adam's locker. Adam had to take remedial gym, or some crap like that. Seven words: never gonna help anyone out in life.

"So how's the man in the mirror? Working on trying to change his ways?" Eli asked walking up behind him. Adam turned around and put on a worried look.

"What?" he asked closing his locker.

"Michael Jackson?" Adam rolled his eyes. "Never mind. So, how's the life of recreational arts?" Eli asked.

"Ballroom dancing." Adam replied. I let out chuckle then said "Excuse me, but ballroom dancing? That's torture."

"Oh boy." Eli said looking behind Adam.

"It's not that bad, I get to dance with cute girls-"

"No, I mean oh boy." Eli referred to Clare walking over to us. His ears started to turn red and I bit my lip to keep from giggling.

"Edited your homework. I don't approve of this Clare Edwin character." She said handing it to him. Eli said a big word that I didn't understand and Clare replied with "She's a floosy. Fix it." She shoved it in his hand and walked away, turning back to smile.

"Not even a hello. You're rubbing off on her." I said smirking.

"You two give me the runs." Adam said.

"To me it's entertaining. So, have fun dancing with-wait are there any cute girls in remedial gym?" Eli asked. 'Guys.' I thought rolling my eyes.

"There's Bianca." Adam said. We both gave him a look. "You gotta admit she's pretty hot."

"Yea in a hit and run SUV kind of way." Eli said.

"Plus, she's bad news dude. You wouldn't believe some of the things she does." I commented before walking away while saying "Think about it." I stopped in the middle of the hall and realized something. I ran back to Eli and quickly asked "Dude, my appointment." His eyes went wide in shock and he said "What time is it?" I looked at my wrist and remembered I didn't have a watch.

"I don't know!" I said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Adam asked. I paused to think of an excuse.

"Dentist appointment. I have it early in the morning." I quickly said as Eli handed me the keys to Morty. I stared in shock as he said "Hurry and I better not find a scratch on Morty." I nodded as I ran to the school parking lot. I hopped in the driver's seat and started the ignition. I drove off to the hospital, hoping that they wouldn't mind I was late. Obviously they didn't because I went right in to . He smiled at me and said "Ahh, you made it. I thought you would've forgot."

"How could I ever?" I said smiling, sitting in the infamous arm chair.

"First we'll take a quick blood test." He said, an injecting needle in his hand. I gulped as the needle collided with my arm and I tried not to freak out. Me and needles, bad relationship. I tried a fashion design class once and the machines needle went right through my finger. Yeah it hurt. Never used a sewing machine again. After he was done, he took the needle part off and put my blood in a tube. I felt like a test dummy for science class.

"Before I go test this, did you have anything after you ate dinner yesterday?" he asked. I shook my head and he smiled before putting a bandage around my arm and walking towards the door.

"We'll go test to see how high your blood sugar is." He said before walking out. I laid back in the chair and felt my phone go off. I slipped it out of my pocket and noticed it was a call from Eli.

"Hello?" I answered and he whispered "Hey, how's it going?"

"Besides the fact I got a needle through my arm? Not that bad!" I answered. "Why are you whispering?"

"I'm in the bathroom trying not to get caught. What's the doctor doing now?" he asked, his voice still low.

"He went to go find out how high my blood sugar is. He'll be back in a while." I answered, nails tapping on the arm chair.

"Well, good luck Ghost. I gotta go before the teacher gets suspicious." He said. I sighed sadly. I was all alone in a doctor's office. It was going to be very boring.

"Yeah, ok. Talk to you later. Bye." I said and hung up the phone. I sighed as I waited for Dr. Lasenbyrg to come back. After about 10 more minutes, the door opened and in walked Dr. Lasenbyrg with a file with my name on it. I felt my heart beat get louder as he started speaking.

"We have the results right here, Ms. Giovanni." He said and I nodded, my hands starting to shake. He opened the file and looked closely to the file.

"It seems that you have the blood sugar of 128 milligrams per dekaliter. It's right above the line of having prediabetes. I shut my eyes and let my head hit the chair. I opened my eyes and asked "So, what, do I have diabetes or prediabetes?"

"Well, we're not exactly sure until we do the next test tomorrow." He said and I stood up stretching.

"To make sure that I actually have diabetes, yea ok, I get it. Are we done for today?" I asked and he nodded.

"Good day to you, Ms. Giovanni." He said before I walked out. I walked out of the hospital and walked over to Morty. I got in the car and sighed.

"Where to now, Morty? No way in hell am I going back to school." I said out loud. I thought for a second before just deciding on going back to the house. But I couldn't take Morty with me, I'd have to drop him off back at the school. I drove back to the school and had parked the car in the same spot where it was. I got out of the car and walked all the way home, stopping at The Dot to get some hot chocolate before going there. I dug deep in the soil of the little garden Eli's mom had in the front yard to look for the spare key. I finally found it, brushing it off with my fingers. I unlocked the door and walked in, locking it back. I walked up to Eli's room and opened the door looking around. I looked around for his i-pod dock to plug my i-pod in. I plugged it in and put it on shuffle. The first song that played was Lost in Stereo by All Time Low. I kicked off my shoes and stood on Eli's bed, setting my hot chocolate done on his bed side table. I started jumping up and down, bouncing to the beat of the song. My mouth started to open, lyrics pouring out. It felt good to let loose since I've been so tightened lately. I mean, diabetes, getting arrested, almost having bipolar disease? Who goes through this stuff? Throughout the song, I could feel my hips shake to parts of the song. After the song ended, the next song was Run This Town. I jumped off the bed, thanking god that no one was home. I would probably never act like this if someone was watching. I grabbed one of Eli's many rings from his dresser and tried it on. 'Hmm. Not bad.' I thought. I thought for a second and ran downstairs, bringing my bag back upstairs with me. I dug in my bag for something to write with and found a light green pen. I grabbed a small book from my bag and started writing. If you're wondering, it's not for school. I wrote, thinking everything, but stopping mid-sentence. I looked around at Eli's room again as the song Hot N' Cold came on. Something caught my eye and I stood up to look at a picture. It was a picture of Eli and me, when we were thirteen. It was the last day of school in the picture and he had kissed my cheek in the picture while I faced the camera, winking, my tongue sticking out. I stared puzzlingly at it while the song ended and Ignorance started playing. I stared at the photo for a while until turning from it and continued to write.

I had wrote about 5 small sized pages of stuff. Just random stuff. I heard the house door open and Eli's voice rang through the house.

"Ghost!" he yelled. I didn't answer, I just grabbed the photo from before and sat back down on the bed as I heard him walk upstairs. The next song started to play and I blushed at the fact that it was one of those sappy romance songs. I quickly changed it as Eli walked in and I heard him yell "Whoa!" I turned around and quickly and said "What?"

"Why was your butt in the air?"

"Well why'd you look?" I asked. He didn't answer and I smirked.

"Yah, that's what I thought." I replied as One of The Boys played. He looked at the photo I was holding and dropped his bag.

"You found that huh?" he asked. I looked down and nodded smiling.

"I can't believe you kept it. I mean, I still have mine, but it's not in a frame." I said as he laid down on his bed next to me.

"Where'd you keep it?"

"Near my heart…lol joking, I keep it in my wallet." I said laughing. He laughed too, taking the picture.

"Did we use to date back then?" he asked and I looked at him weird.

"Um…well I don't know, maybe?" I said shrugging. He leaned up and sighed.

"All I wanna know is…are those feelings…still there?" he stuttered and I was kinda shocked that he even brought it up. I mean, since we met, I've a crush on Eli. It wasn't major, but a normal junior high crush. And then when we went to different schools, it was just saved in the back of my brain until it came back. I wasn't sure if it was back though. Plus, I knew Eli liked Clare. I would never mess up what they barely have.

"Eli…the feelings are…mutual. I mean, I love you-" Eli's lips pressed against mine and I felt my body freeze. I felt my arm go around his neck as he continued to kiss me. He pulled back and I stared at him for a second before jumping up and falling off the bed. I quickly got up and started pacing.

"No, no, no, no, no." I said. Eli looked at me as I continued to pace.

"Dude, why did you do that?"

"You said you love me, I was doing what you wanted!"

"As a brother!" I yelled at him. We paused for a second before I smoothed my hair back with my hand.

"I don't feel the same way. Clare is gonna freak. And then Gabe… oh god Eli!" I said sitting on the bed.

"You, need to calm down. Clare doesn't have to know because it didn't mean anything. And Gabe…you can decided whether to tell him or not. And just so you know, I don't feel that way about you either." I glared at him and he just shrugged.

"Ok, but I need some air." I said grabbing my i-pod from the docket and about to walk out.

"Wait!" Eli said. I turned. "How'd the screening go?" he asked seriously. I sighed and said "I have to wait until tomorrow. To know if I have diabetes. But my blood sugar is 128. Which is right above the line of having pre-diabetes. Which means I'm this close to having diabetes." I scrunched my fingers together showing how close it was.

"Wow. That sucks."

"Thank you, Eli, that's such a sweet thing to say." I said sarcastically, turning back around.

"Sorry, but I honestly don't know what else to say." He stated. I turned back around.

"You didn't have to say anything." I said, trying not to sound rude. I walked out the room and down the stairs. I opened the door and walked down the front steps, not really knowing where my destination was. 'I have to tell them.' I thought. I started to walk towards Clare's house, feeling like I was walking on air. I made a sudden halt in front of her house. I breathed in then out before walking up to her door and knocking. After a few seconds, she opened the door with a surprised look.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Ok, does anybody know the meaning of the word 'hi' anymore?" I asked, trying to break the tension. She laughed and said "Sorry, it's just you usually don't come unexpectedly. Is something wrong?"

"We need to talk."

"About…"

"What I haven't been telling you or Alli." Her eyes went wide and she closed the door behind her as I walked over to the freshly cut lawn. I sat down and pulled my legs to my chest. She sat down next to me and said "So, what haven't you been telling us?"

"A lot. For one thing, if you haven't heard people talking about it, then it's been said that I have bipolar disease, but, thankfully, I don't. But I might have diabetes." I started and I eyed her carefully. Her eyes went wide at the news.

"And today, I didn't go to school because I had a screening. I mean I went to school, but then I remembered I had the appointment so I had to leave and I decided not to go back-" She stopped me with her hand saying "I think I got it."

"So I went back home, also known as Eli's house. Blasted some music, looked at some photos, and Eli came back after school. We talked…and talked… and then…we kind of kissed." I said, my head turning from her face with almost every word.

"You did what?" she asked shockingly. I winced. I _so _saw this coming.

"We kissed, but it didn't mean anything. He only did because I said I loved him-"

"You what?" she asked again.

"Dude, stop cutting me off and listen. When I said it, I meant to say, before he cut me off with his lips, as a brother. Which means that I'm not in love with him. I just love him. So don't go killing me over nothing." I finished. She stared at me with her mouth open and waited a while until she finally spoke.

"So, does Eli feel that way about you?" she asked.

"No, he only did it because he was worried about my feelings instead of his own. Very gentlemen like." I commented and she smiled reassuringly.

"What, happy he isn't taken?" I laughed. She didn't say anything, just blushed hard.

"Oh so you are." I smirked, standing up, stretching. She stood up too, brushing the grass of her skirt.

"Oh, and one other thing. Me and Eli used to go out in junior high, yeah!" I said using fake happiness. Clare's face fell and so did mine.

"Um, why didn't it work out?" she asked, biting her lip.

"We couldn't stay together because I was going to a different high school. But I didn't tell him I was going to Degrassi, which is why he looked all shocked when he ran over your glasses." She slightly laughed at the memory.

"You're not mad?" I asked hopefully.

"No. It was in the past, so it doesn't matter, right?"

"Right! Ok, now I have to tell Gabe. Thanks for not freaking out!" I said hugging her.

"No problem. I think." She said pulling away. I smiled before taking off down the block. I stopped halfway and gave myself a mental head slap. I don't know where Gabe lives. I searched my phone and heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and glared.

"Well if it isn't Scarface." Fitz said smirking.

"What do you want Fitz? Another beating from a girl?" I asked crossing my arms.

"Cute. But I just wanted to get to know you better." He said getting closer to me, making me take a step back.

"Yea, I sure got to know you better when you ripped my best friends hood ornament off, and when you were close to sexually assaulting me, and, oh yeah, when you pushed my friend into my locker. You're just full of getting to know people, aren't you?" I said, about ready to turn around and walk away.

"Of course I am. Now, about getting to know you…what are you doing tonight?"

"Stabbing my ears with daggers after even having this conversation." I said turning around to walk away until he grabbed my arm with a viper like grip. I tried to tug away, but he just held on tighter. But I wasn't gonna let that get me scared.

"Hey, I'm trying to be nice. You could at least appreciate that." He spat out.

"Maybe I'll appreciate it when you let me go." I kept tugging on my arm, but he wouldn't let go. It was really starting to hurt.

"Stop being a whiny little bitch." My head snapped to him and I stared daggers at him. I kicked his leg and snatched my hand away, starting to run. I heard him running after me and slipped my hoodie on top of my head, trying to better hide myself. I turned a sharp turn and ran into an alley. I stood there for a minute as I watched him run by the alley. I sighed and slipped my hood off, walking out of the alley and looking back at him running.

"Hey." I jumped around, snapping my head to see the person who greeted me. I exhaled at the sight of Gabe holding coffee. If there was ever a time to love coffee, it'd be now.

"Oh, just the person I was looking for." I said. He smiled and took a sip.

"You look worried. Come on, let's head to the park. It's a good place to talk." He said grabbing my hand. I felt my cheeks get warm as we walked hand in hand to the park. I hardly ever go there, I don't really know why, I just don't. We walked inside the park's opening gates and sat on the first bench we saw.

"So, what's up?" he asked, resting his coffee on the side of him.

"You have to promise not to get mad if I tell you." I said looking him in the eye. I was always serious when I looked in a person's eyes. They always seemed to take the hint.

"Ghost. I promise not to get mad if you just happened to have sex with a some random guy." He said sarcastically. I laughed, even though I shouldn't have laughed at this moment. He just always seemed to break the tension with people. It's what I loved about him.

"Eli kissed me today. But it didn't mean anything because he only did it when I said something that he took the wrong way." I said. Gabe stared at me until taking a sip of his coffee to show me to continue.

"I told him I love him, hence the kiss, but I meant as a brother. Because I don't have any siblings." I continued. Gabe continued to stare at me while sipping his coffee. I couldn't help but laugh and then stop for a second, trying to hold it in.

"You make it so hard to be serious!" I said my giggle fit starting. He stopped sipping his coffee and laughed too.

"It's because life isn't awesome without laughing. If life's all serious all the time, then everybody would die of boredom. Which is why I'm the life of the party." He said. I stopped giggling and smiled.

"So, you're not mad or anything?"

"Why would I be? You said it yourself, it meant nothing." He said taking another sip.

"Wow. You are, like, so…different from…"

"The kids at your school? Yeah, they're no fun. It's all about being popular and trying to survive high school. I'm not trying to survive. If anything, I'd like to stay in high school for a while. And at your school, everyone's the center of attention, even if they don't wanna be." He explained. I was surprised that he changed his mood so fast. It was almost unhealthy.

"Wow. That's deep, man." I said smiling. He turned to me and smiled back.

"Yeah, you should read my lyrics sometime. People say it's good, but they're just people." He said looking down at his coffee cup.

"And what am I?" I asked.

"You're you. The awesome girl I met at the rock show." He said and I felt my heart speed up. I looked down at my sneakers and said "That's so cliché."

"So what if it is? Aren't words what make life what it is?" he asked shrugging.

"I guess. But if we didn't have words, then what we would use in life? Or would life not even exist?" I asked looking up at him. He gave me a confused look and I shrugged.

"Weird. But we'd probably communicate with hand signs. Like dance moves, or sign language." He answered. I nodded, trying to understand our weird conversation.

"You mean like deaf people."

"Sure. But deaf people can actually speak, they just wouldn't be able to hear themselves." He added and I rolled my eyes. I watched as Gabe finished his coffee and checked his watch.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked standing up. I stood up too, shaking my legs for the numbness to go away.

"Yeah. And if we meet up again, give me your lyrics. I bet they're good. And I'm not just saying that 'cause you're cute." I smirked. He gave me a raised eyebrow and said "You think I'm cute?"

"No, I think you're hot. But that's a different conversation on a different day." I saw a smirk appear on his face as he leaned closer to me.

"Well," he leaned closer to me, passing my face to whisper in my ear. "I'll wait until the next day." He pulled away from me laughing at the sight of me blushing so much. I gave him a playful glare before walking away, folding my arms so I wouldn't get cold.

"Don't forget, we've got a date tomorrow!" he yelled out to me and I gave him the peace sign, showing I already knew. I walked the rest of the way home and opened the door, surprised it was open.

"Hey Eli, you left the door…open…" I trailed off at what I saw.

"Ghost. It's so nice to see you again." Eli's mom said with a smile, engulfing me in a hug. I hugged back, smiling slightly, seeing behind her Eli's dad with his arms folded, Eli with his hands in his pocket and a police officer. I gave him a confused look, but his head was hanging so he didn't see. Eli's mom pulled away and I had just noticed she had tears in her eyes as said "We. Need to talk. It's about your mom."

A/N: Ooooh, cliffy!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

My Body Is Cage, So Of Course You Can't Enter Pt. 2

I felt my heart drop at those very words. I looked over at Eli, and his head rose up to see my face. He had a look of sadness on his face, and I felt my hands start to tremble as I grabbed onto Mrs. Goldsworthy's arms.

"My mom? What happened, is she ok? Where is she?" I bombarded her with questions and she grabbed my arms, tears streaming down her face now. I felt tears start to come up in my eyes. She pulled me in, hugging me tight, sobbing into my shoulder. I saw Eli stand up and walk over to me, joining the hug. I was in shock because I knew what had happened. My mom was gone. Not out of the country gone, but off of this planet gone. I felt tears pour down my face because I knew that it was the truth. Mrs. Goldsworthy pulled away and said "Your mom…was in an accident." I felt my arms fall to my sides and my feet give way as I fell to the ground.

"She's at the hospital and she wants to see you." She finished and I gasped. I looked up at her and said "She's not…dead?" Mrs. Goldsworthy shook her head. Eli pulled my arm up and said "I'll take her there. You guys…come when you're ready." He dragged me outside and tried to pull me to Morty, but I don't even think that I could ride in it. He tugged at my arm again and I said faintly "I can't."

"We have to go see her. She might not make it." Eli said.

"Don't say that! She's gonna make it!" I yelled at him.

"We still have to see her." He said quietly. I sighed and he held out his hand. I hesitated, but took his hand. I turned my head slightly and saw a police car in front of the house. We drove in Morty to the hospital and I felt my stomach get queasy at the smell. Eli's grip on my hand tightened and he lead me to the lady at the desk. After a while, the lady walked us to where my mom was. There was a big glass window that showed what was going on inside. I covered my mouth with the hand that wasn't holding Eli's. My mom was in a hospital bed, resting with wires and tubes hooked up to parts of her body. I walked into the room, letting Eli's hand go. I walked over to her and sat down in the seat next to the hospital bed.

"Hey mom. I can't believe it's really you." I said quietly, as if I talked louder then she'd tell me I was too loud.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? It's as if, time is stopping…like the time that guy from Degrassi died...J.T. Yorke? When you heard about it, you didn't want me to go. But it was surprisingly my dream school. Even if before that, some kid had died from a gun shooting." I rambled and finally stopped myself and laughed.

"I'm rambling again, aren't I? You always said that wasn't healthy." I commented. I looked up to see the door open and Eli walk in, hands in his pockets. I waved and he gave me a slight wave back. He looked at my mom and I whispered "It's ok to say hi." He smiled and said "Hey, Ms. Giovanni. Haven't seen you since, like, forever." I laughed.

"So how's it going? Uh, why would I ask that, of course you're not doing well." Eli rambled and I covered my mouth to quit laughing and crying at the same time.

"Oh my god, you're such a wreck." I said and he gave me a 'what?' look.

"It's just…the last time I saw someone in a hospital bed….." his face fell as he remembered what I didn't know.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, it's…nothing. You want a snack, I'll go get one." He walked out of the room not even looking back. 'I shouldn't worry about it. It's probably not important.' I thought. I turned to my mom and stared at her heart monitor. It was just…beeping. After another hour of just seeing if my mom would be ok and that her heart would just give out and the heart monitor would go all 'beeeeeeeeep,' a nurse came in and said I had to leave. I walked outside and saw Eli chewing on chips. I gave him a glare and he looked up saying "Hey." I grabbed the bag of chips he was holding and poured the crumbs on the floor.

"Oh. Did you want some chips?" he asked innocently. I threw the bag in his face. (A/N: Remember 24 Hours on the Couch? ;) I just had to.) After a silent drive back to the house, I noticed the police car still in front of it.

"Why's the police car here?" I asked Eli. He sighed and said "The cop's here to find out what happened to your mom. They suspect it's your dad." I felt my heart drop at the conversation of my dad. If you're wondering, yes, I did kind of hate my dad. I didn't want him to burn in hell or anything, but I sure didn't want him to go to heaven. We walked through the front door and the first thing I saw were two cops standing by the door.

"Nice of you to grace us with your presence Ms. Giovanni." A lady cop said. I raised my eyebrow and said "I'm sorry, next time I'll just kill my mom quick so I can spend time with you cops." The lady scowled at me and I gave her an innocent grin. Eli ushered me to the couch and I sat down, the cops standing in front of the coffee table. I put a leg over the other professional like and crossed my arms. Eli was about to sit down next to me when the guy cop stopped him.

"Um, this conversation is just between the three of us, if you don't mind." The cop said and Eli nodded, giving me a look before walking upstairs and going in his room. The cops looked at me for a minute before the guy cop asked "So, Georgia–" I cut him off quickly saying "I don't go by Georgia anymore."

"Then what do you go by?" the lady cop asked angrily.

"Ghost. I go by Ghost." I said flatly giving her a strained smile. She didn't even flinch.

"So, we're just gonna get straight to it. You already know that your mom got into an accident. But it wasn't by accident. We suspect that she was coming from somewhere and she got hit by someone on purpose." The guy cop said. I looked at him, then at the lady, my eyes wandering back and forth.

"So, are you gonna tell me who you suspect hit her or are you gonna wait for me to shockingly say 'do you think it's my dad?'" I asked sarcastically. If you're wondering, I never liked cops. Except the nice ones, but there were hardly ever any. The lady cop glared at me and said in the most nicest voice she could possibly sound "We suspect it's your dad. Happy?"

"Peachy." I grinned and the guy reached over the coffee table, holding his hand out.

"I'm Officer Daniels, sorry that Sanders isn't being easy on you." I shook his hand with a slight smile. I meant cops like him. He pulled back, giving me a slight smile before nudging the woman. She cracked a smile.

"Officer Sanders." She said cocking her head to the side. I cocked mine and said "What's wrong, doll? A string lose in that porcelain back of yours?" It looked as if she was about to pounce at me when Officer Daniels held her back. She breathed in and out before looking at me with a serious face.

"We suspect it's your dad, but we have no way of figuring out where he might be. So we ask you if you might know." She said crossing her arms. I thought for a moment before saying "I honestly don't think you're asking the right person."

"Ghost, if you're not telling us something–" Officer Daniels began to say but I stopped him.

"No, I mean that I haven't seen my dad for about thirteen years. I wouldn't know where to look for him. All I know is, he came to my house, my mom told him to leave, I got out of there as fast as possible. If you want my best guess, then he's either at a bar, at a liquor store, or at a strip club." I saw Officer Daniels take what I was saying down onto a note pad.

"Who would be the best person to ask?" Officer Sanders asked.

"Once again, I don't know. Maybe my mom, but I haven't seen her since I left, so I'm honestly not sure where she's been." I answered, my nails starting to dig into my skin. Officer Daniels sighed and said "Ok. I guess we're done here. Thank you for your help, Ghost." I nodded and stood up, stretching out. I walked over to the door and opened it, both of them walking out.

"Have a good night." I said behind them, closing the door. I leaned against it and slid down, holding my head in my hands. I heard footsteps come down the stairs and looked up.

"Hey." Eli said simply and I gave him a half wave. He walked over to me and crouched down to my level.

"What'd they ask you?" he asked.

"They asked where my dad might be and I told him my top guesses. And I think the lady hates me." I said bluntly. He chuckled and I slightly smiled.

"Well, me and my parents were talking. And they're still confused on if we should keep you here, or let you go live with your mom." He said, his smile fading.

"Dude, let's not talk about that. I just…what happened at school today?" I asked bluntly. He gave a strange look and I just said "Well?"

"Well, Clare told me something strange today. She said that Adam had dropped…tampons…today, while at his locker." My eyes went wide and I thought for a second.

"Why would Adam have tampons? He's…a guy, right?" I asked confusingly and Eli shrugged.

"I don't know, but when he's ready to tell us…he'll tell us." Eli answered and I nodded. I stood up and walked over to the couch.

"Today's Friday. I have the follow up appointment tomorrow…oh no." I sat down with a huff and Eli walked over to me saying "What?"

"I have to cancel my date with Gabe. There's no way that I'll be able to go, not after I figure out if I have diabetes." I answered. Eli gave me a pat on the shoulder.

"That sucks."  
"Thanks, Eli. You are, like, so helpful. You must eat Hamburger Helper all the friggin' time." I said my words filled with sarcasm.

The next day, I woke up at around 5:30 AM. I took a shower, ate some breakfast and woke Eli up. I needed somebody to take me. After another half an hour, we were at the hospital. The hospital I went to was different from the one my mom went to, so, unfortunately, I wasn't visiting. Eli had checked me in and after waiting 10 minutes, the doctor said I could come in. I grabbed Eli's arm and walked behind the doctor into the room that I was starting to get to know way too well. I sat down in the stretched out chair and Dr. Lasenbyrge started getting stuff for the needle.

"Are you ready, Georgia?" he asked me, holding up the needle. I called Eli over with my hand and he immediately stood up. He walked over to me and I grabbed his arm. I nodded and as the needle went through my arm, I squeezed the life out of Eli's hand. I felt a weird liquid come on my nails and as the needle left my arm, I let go of Eli's arm.

"Damn, Ghost!" he said holding onto his now red and bleeding arm.

"Oops. Sorry!" I apologized. Dr. Lasenbyrge put my blood in a tube and put a bandage around my arm, and then Eli's.

"I'll go test this and then we'll be done." I nodded and he walked out of the room. Eli sat back down in his seat and asked "Nervous?" I slightly nodded. I started tapping my fingers on the seat. 'Whatever happens, you'll be you and no one else.' I thought and Mr. Lasenbyrge came in with a file in his hands.

"Well, looks like your blood sugar is…130 milligrams." He read and I felt my heart drop.

"So…I have…diabetes then?" I asked, but it didn't sound like a question, more like a statement.

"I'm sorry. But this shouldn't ruin your life, you can still live how you normally would. Here," he handed me a brochure that was titled "Living with Diabetes." "This will explain all the things you need to know about diabetes and what you'll have to take to stay healthy." He finished. I nodded and Mr. Lasenbyrge opened a cabinet and took out a needle and a small vial.

"I'll give you a shot of insulin and then a needle to take it from now on." He said wavering the needle in front of my face. I lowered his arm and gave him a slight grin.

"More needles? Isn't there a less painful way to do this?" I asked eyeing the needle.

"Well, there is a pill–" "I'll take the pill." After 15 minutes of talking about how life was gonna be from now on, me and Eli left the hospital, now walking in the parking lot, my mood duller than usual. Eli put a hand on my shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked. I groaned.

"I hate that. I hate that soo much." I commented.

"Well you're gonna hate diabetes for the rest of your life until a bunch of geniuses find–" I quickly stopped him and said "No, I mean when people ask you 'are you okay' when they know you're not. It's like if someone just fell down the stairs and someone runs up and asks you if you're okay, and you say 'Yeah. The pain doesn't hurt at all.' sarcastically and then they get mad at you for being snarky and rude. Don't get mad at me for being an idiot, then!" I rambled and Eli laughed. "By the way, I am okay. I have no problem with being a diabetic." He nodded, opening the hearse's door for me. I got in and he shut the door, walking over to the driver's side. He got in the car and started Morty up. We drove back to the house and I was just about to collapse on the couch when I saw Eli's mom and dad cuddling on it. I was so close to saying 'ew' when Eli covered my mouth and pointed upstairs. I nodded and slowly ran up the stairs behind him. We walked into his room and I dropped on the bed, loving the nice softness of it. I heard my stomach grumble and looked over at Eli with pleading eyes.

"No. Diabetic or not, you get off your lazy ass and get it." He said. I gave him a confused look.

"Fine. I need the exercise anyway…and what's up with you? Your sharpie ran dry?" I asked standing up. He sighed, rubbing his temples. I gave him another look before walking out the room and slowly going down the stairs, trying not to make so much noise. I was just about to walk towards the kitchen when I saw something I wasn't supposed to see. I quickly ran up the stairs back to Eli's room and closed the door swiftly but quietly, covering my eyes. I opened them and then ran towards the bed screaming into a pillow. I could tell Eli was looking at me weirdly.

"Is something wrong?" he asked questionably with a hint of laughter in his voice. I lifted my head and stared at him, shaking a little.

"I saw something I was _not_ supposed to see." I answered rubbing my shoulders together. He gave me another confused look and I stood up, grabbing his arm, walking towards the door. I opened it, walking down the stairs slowly. As soon as we made it down, I covered my eyes, not bearing to look at what I previously saw.

"See for yourself." I whispered to Eli before he looked and screamed "MOM! DAD!" His parents quickly pulled away from what they were doing and I heard his mom say "Eli…we didn't even hear you guys come in! We were just…" I covered my ears and hit the ground. If you're wondering, they were making out so much, that Mrs. Goldsworthy was slowly taking off her shirt(did I almost throw up at grown woman boobs? Hell yes. Plus they were my best friend's mom's boobs. That's just wrong). I stood up and walked to the kitchen, about to grab a banana, but then dropped it and grabbed some yogurt. I walked back to Eli's room, trying to erase what had happened. Afternoon came by fast and I had fell asleep after all the stress I got going on. I woke up to Eli blasting Dead Hand and talking to Clare over the phone.

"Uh, Clare, I'll call you later, ok? Ok, bye." He hung up the phone and looked at my smirking face. "What?"

"You like her, don't you?" I asked stretching out. His ears turned red as he said "We're just friends, Ghost. Nothing more."

"So, you don't like Clare?"

"No! I do."

"Ah ha! So you do like like Clare!" I yelled out. He rolled his eyes.

"Stop twisting my words!" he said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I flipped open my phone and looked at my missed calls. I had 5 from Gabe.

"Fuck. What time is it?" I asked Eli and he turned to his computer, turning back to me saying "Like 7:00." I cursed and quickly called Gabe. It went straight to voicemail. 'Fuck.' I thought hanging up. I got so frustrated that I threw my phone across the room. Eli looked at it and then looked back at me.

"So, you're just gonna take it out on your phone?" he asked me. I groaned and walked over to pick it up, the screen shattered and the battery out. I pushed the battery back in and tried to turn on my phone. There was a slight glitch but it still worked. I started to put my shoes on and stuffed my shattered phone in my pocket. I was almost out the door when Eli called me back. He threw me my insulin and my blood meter thing. I groaned and quickly took it, lifting my shirt up to take it near my stomach. I winced at the pain and quickly put the needle on the dresser along with the insulin, walking out the door. I was on my way to The Dot, I already knew that Gabe would be there. I ran, pushing people out of the way. I hit my head on the door and groaned, opening it with one hand and holding my head with the other. I saw Gabe sitting near a window, wearing a grey and black striped hoodie with the sleeves rolled up. I tried to think of something to say, but he noticed me and I had just noticed that he had headphones in his ears. He yanked them out and murmured "Don't talk to me." Before walking past me, I grabbed his arm.

"Wait, no, Gabe you don't understand. I overslept after…" I trailed off, afraid to tell him since we've only been seeing each other for a few days. He turned to me with a glare in his eyes that made me remove my hand from his arm.

"So you overslept _and _forgot? Wow. Real nice, Ghost. You could've called, you could've canceled…you could've told me where you were going!" he yelled at me, and I wasn't exactly enjoying it. I felt my neck heat up, and it was only when I got nervous or angry.

"I couldn't tell you!" I yelled back, tears threatening to fall down my face. I tried to hold them in, but they were about to pour.

"Why? You know you could tell me anything!" he said it softer, but there was still anger in is voice. I shook my head.

"I…just couldn't." I stuttered. I felt hot tears hit my face and I quickly whipped them away. Gabe sighed and walked out The Dot, walking quickly down the street. I walked out the door and before he could make it a few feet away from me I yelled out "I have diabetes!" He stopped walking, turning slowly to face me. The tears were coming down freely, and I held onto my arms, cold from the autumn air. Some people had stopped and stared at me, some had continued walking. My head was down, so I didn't notice Gabe walk up to me and touch my arm lightly, as if he might break me. I looked up into his eyes, the grey orbs that I could live in if I wanted to. He took my hand and walked me towards the park. We sat down at the same bench we sat at yesterday. He didn't say anything, just stared down, glancing at me a few times. He finally broke the silence.

"How long have you known?" he asked me almost silently.

"Today. I went to the hospital this morning to take the second test." I answered, looking at my hands. I twisted the spiked ring on my finger.

"Why didn't you tell me yesterday? When we were talking?" he asked again.

"Because I wasn't sure if I had it. I didn't wanna tell you wrong information. And I would've called later, but something else happened." I felt my throat tightening up, but I continued.

"My mom…she got hit by a car. I had went to the hospital to check on her and then there were cops that asked me questions…it was too much for me to think about. I was gonna tell you, that I couldn't make the date. But it slipped my mind when I went to the hospital to figure out if I had diabetes, and then I fell asleep from the pressure, and didn't wake up until 7:00. I tried to call, but you didn't pick up. So I came to The Dot, and you know the rest." I finished. Gabe didn't say anything for at least a minute.

"I would've understood. If you would've told me." He stated, looking at me.

"I know I should've told you. And I'm an idiot for thinking that you would've took it the wrong way and treated me differently." I said and I saw Gabe look down. I grabbed his free hand and held onto it tight. He looked at it and squeezed back. He stood up and looked at me smiling.

"I won't let you go through this alone. I can promise you that." He said and smiled back, hugging him. I felt water fall on my face and knew that it wasn't tears as it started pouring rain. I quickly pulled away from Gabe and laughed.

"Is this cliché or what?" I said and he nodded, laughing. He grabbed my hand and we ran out of the park, running up to a car.

"You have a car?" I asked. He didn't answer, he just opened the car door for and I got in. He ran over to the driver's seat and got in quickly, his hair soaked. My hair was soaked too, but I could care less. We looked at each other and leaned in until our lips met. I grabbed the back of his head and I could feel his soft blonde hair under my hands. His hands roamed my body, and I had let him, freely. After about 10 minutes of making out, I had to leave. I gave him a quick kiss before stepping out of the car. I walked back home, my heels clicking on the concrete. I knocked on the door of Eli's house and he opened the door with a slight smile.

"Sup?" I asked him, walking in. His parents were in the living room, sitting and watching the TV. AS soon as I walked in, they turned off the TV and turned to me with a smile.

"What's going on?" I asked taking a seat across from them. Eli sat on the arm of the sofa, next to his mom. She had a genuine motherly smile on her face.

"Georgia. We all talked it over. And we've decided that for as long as your mom is in the hospital, then we'll aid you in anything you need." She said and my grin grew into a full blown smile. I jumped and said "So am I, like, your daughter now? Until my mom gets better?"

"That's right Georgia Goldsworthy." Eli said standing up to give me a hug. I hugged him tight and felt soo welcome here. More than I did before, when I had stayed here without asking. I was…in the family.

Chapter 7

My Body Is Cage, So Of Course You Can't Enter Pt. 2

I felt my heart drop at those very words. I looked over at Eli, and his head rose up to see my face. He had a look of sadness on his face, and I felt my hands start to tremble as I grabbed onto Mrs. Goldsworthy's arms.

"My mom? What happened, is she ok? Where is she?" I bombarded her with questions and she grabbed my arms, tears streaming down her face now. I felt tears start to come up in my eyes. She pulled me in, hugging me tight, sobbing into my shoulder. I saw Eli stand up and walk over to me, joining the hug. I was in shock because I knew what had happened. My mom was gone. Not out of the country gone, but off of this planet gone. I felt tears pour down my face because I knew that it was the truth. Mrs. Goldsworthy pulled away and said "Your mom…was in an accident." I felt my arms fall to my sides and my feet give way as I fell to the ground.

"She's at the hospital and she wants to see you." She finished and I gasped. I looked up at her and said "She's not…dead?" Mrs. Goldsworthy shook her head. Eli pulled my arm up and said "I'll take her there. You guys…come when you're ready." He dragged me outside and tried to pull me to Morty, but I don't even think that I could ride in it. He tugged at my arm again and I said faintly "I can't."

"We have to go see her. She might not make it." Eli said.

"Don't say that! She's gonna make it!" I yelled at him.

"We still have to see her." He said quietly. I sighed and he held out his hand. I hesitated, but took his hand. I turned my head slightly and saw a police car in front of the house. We drove in Morty to the hospital and I felt my stomach get queasy at the smell. Eli's grip on my hand tightened and he lead me to the lady at the desk. After a while, the lady walked us to where my mom was. There was a big glass window that showed what was going on inside. I covered my mouth with the hand that wasn't holding Eli's. My mom was in a hospital bed, resting with wires and tubes hooked up to parts of her body. I walked into the room, letting Eli's hand go. I walked over to her and sat down in the seat next to the hospital bed.

"Hey mom. I can't believe it's really you." I said quietly, as if I talked louder then she'd tell me I was too loud.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? It's as if, time is stopping…like the time that guy from Degrassi died...J.T. Yorke? When you heard about it, you didn't want me to go. But it was surprisingly my dream school. Even if before that, some kid had died from a gun shooting." I rambled and finally stopped myself and laughed.

"I'm rambling again, aren't I? You always said that wasn't healthy." I commented. I looked up to see the door open and Eli walk in, hands in his pockets. I waved and he gave me a slight wave back. He looked at my mom and I whispered "It's ok to say hi." He smiled and said "Hey, Ms. Giovanni. Haven't seen you since, like, forever." I laughed.

"So how's it going? Uh, why would I ask that, of course you're not doing well." Eli rambled and I covered my mouth to quit laughing and crying at the same time.

"Oh my god, you're such a wreck." I said and he gave me a 'what?' look.

"It's just…the last time I saw someone in a hospital bed….." his face fell as he remembered what I didn't know.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, it's…nothing. You want a snack, I'll go get one." He walked out of the room not even looking back. 'I shouldn't worry about it. It's probably not important.' I thought. I turned to my mom and stared at her heart monitor. It was just…beeping. After another hour of just seeing if my mom would be ok and that her heart would just give out and the heart monitor would go all 'beeeeeeeeep,' a nurse came in and said I had to leave. I walked outside and saw Eli chewing on chips. I gave him a glare and he looked up saying "Hey." I grabbed the bag of chips he was holding and poured the crumbs on the floor.

"Oh. Did you want some chips?" he asked innocently. I threw the bag in his face. (A/N: Remember 24 Hours on the Couch? ;) I just had to.) After a silent drive back to the house, I noticed the police car still in front of it.

"Why's the police car here?" I asked Eli. He sighed and said "The cop's here to find out what happened to your mom. They suspect it's your dad." I felt my heart drop at the conversation of my dad. If you're wondering, yes, I did kind of hate my dad. I didn't want him to burn in hell or anything, but I sure didn't want him to go to heaven. We walked through the front door and the first thing I saw were two cops standing by the door.

"Nice of you to grace us with your presence Ms. Giovanni." A lady cop said. I raised my eyebrow and said "I'm sorry, next time I'll just kill my mom quick so I can spend time with you cops." The lady scowled at me and I gave her an innocent grin. Eli ushered me to the couch and I sat down, the cops standing in front of the coffee table. I put a leg over the other professional like and crossed my arms. Eli was about to sit down next to me when the guy cop stopped him.

"Um, this conversation is just between the three of us, if you don't mind." The cop said and Eli nodded, giving me a look before walking upstairs and going in his room. The cops looked at me for a minute before the guy cop asked "So, Georgia–" I cut him off quickly saying "I don't go by Georgia anymore."

"Then what do you go by?" the lady cop asked angrily.

"Ghost. I go by Ghost." I said flatly giving her a strained smile. She didn't even flinch.

"So, we're just gonna get straight to it. You already know that your mom got into an accident. But it wasn't by accident. We suspect that she was coming from somewhere and she got hit by someone on purpose." The guy cop said. I looked at him, then at the lady, my eyes wandering back and forth.

"So, are you gonna tell me who you suspect hit her or are you gonna wait for me to shockingly say 'do you think it's my dad?'" I asked sarcastically. If you're wondering, I never liked cops. Except the nice ones, but there were hardly ever any. The lady cop glared at me and said in the most nicest voice she could possibly sound "We suspect it's your dad. Happy?"

"Peachy." I grinned and the guy reached over the coffee table, holding his hand out.

"I'm Officer Daniels, sorry that Sanders isn't being easy on you." I shook his hand with a slight smile. I meant cops like him. He pulled back, giving me a slight smile before nudging the woman. She cracked a smile.

"Officer Sanders." She said cocking her head to the side. I cocked mine and said "What's wrong, doll? A string lose in that porcelain back of yours?" It looked as if she was about to pounce at me when Officer Daniels held her back. She breathed in and out before looking at me with a serious face.

"We suspect it's your dad, but we have no way of figuring out where he might be. So we ask you if you might know." She said crossing her arms. I thought for a moment before saying "I honestly don't think you're asking the right person."

"Ghost, if you're not telling us something–" Officer Daniels began to say but I stopped him.

"No, I mean that I haven't seen my dad for about thirteen years. I wouldn't know where to look for him. All I know is, he came to my house, my mom told him to leave, I got out of there as fast as possible. If you want my best guess, then he's either at a bar, at a liquor store, or at a strip club." I saw Officer Daniels take what I was saying down onto a note pad.

"Who would be the best person to ask?" Officer Sanders asked.

"Once again, I don't know. Maybe my mom, but I haven't seen her since I left, so I'm honestly not sure where she's been." I answered, my nails starting to dig into my skin. Officer Daniels sighed and said "Ok. I guess we're done here. Thank you for your help, Ghost." I nodded and stood up, stretching out. I walked over to the door and opened it, both of them walking out.

"Have a good night." I said behind them, closing the door. I leaned against it and slid down, holding my head in my hands. I heard footsteps come down the stairs and looked up.

"Hey." Eli said simply and I gave him a half wave. He walked over to me and crouched down to my level.

"What'd they ask you?" he asked.

"They asked where my dad might be and I told him my top guesses. And I think the lady hates me." I said bluntly. He chuckled and I slightly smiled.

"Well, me and my parents were talking. And they're still confused on if we should keep you here, or let you go live with your mom." He said, his smile fading.

"Dude, let's not talk about that. I just…what happened at school today?" I asked bluntly. He gave a strange look and I just said "Well?"

"Well, Clare told me something strange today. She said that Adam had dropped…tampons…today, while at his locker." My eyes went wide and I thought for a second.

"Why would Adam have tampons? He's…a guy, right?" I asked confusingly and Eli shrugged.

"I don't know, but when he's ready to tell us…he'll tell us." Eli answered and I nodded. I stood up and walked over to the couch.

"Today's Friday. I have the follow up appointment tomorrow…oh no." I sat down with a huff and Eli walked over to me saying "What?"

"I have to cancel my date with Gabe. There's no way that I'll be able to go, not after I figure out if I have diabetes." I answered. Eli gave me a pat on the shoulder.

"That sucks."  
"Thanks, Eli. You are, like, so helpful. You must eat Hamburger Helper all the friggin' time." I said my words filled with sarcasm.

The next day, I woke up at around 5:30 AM. I took a shower, ate some breakfast and woke Eli up. I needed somebody to take me. After another half an hour, we were at the hospital. The hospital I went to was different from the one my mom went to, so, unfortunately, I wasn't visiting. Eli had checked me in and after waiting 10 minutes, the doctor said I could come in. I grabbed Eli's arm and walked behind the doctor into the room that I was starting to get to know way too well. I sat down in the stretched out chair and Dr. Lasenbyrge started getting stuff for the needle.

"Are you ready, Georgia?" he asked me, holding up the needle. I called Eli over with my hand and he immediately stood up. He walked over to me and I grabbed his arm. I nodded and as the needle went through my arm, I squeezed the life out of Eli's hand. I felt a weird liquid come on my nails and as the needle left my arm, I let go of Eli's arm.

"Damn, Ghost!" he said holding onto his now red and bleeding arm.

"Oops. Sorry!" I apologized. Dr. Lasenbyrge put my blood in a tube and put a bandage around my arm, and then Eli's.

"I'll go test this and then we'll be done." I nodded and he walked out of the room. Eli sat back down in his seat and asked "Nervous?" I slightly nodded. I started tapping my fingers on the seat. 'Whatever happens, you'll be you and no one else.' I thought and Mr. Lasenbyrge came in with a file in his hands.

"Well, looks like your blood sugar is…130 milligrams." He read and I felt my heart drop.

"So…I have…diabetes then?" I asked, but it didn't sound like a question, more like a statement.

"I'm sorry. But this shouldn't ruin your life, you can still live how you normally would. Here," he handed me a brochure that was titled "Living with Diabetes." "This will explain all the things you need to know about diabetes and what you'll have to take to stay healthy." He finished. I nodded and Mr. Lasenbyrge opened a cabinet and took out a needle and a small vial.

"I'll give you a shot of insulin and then a needle to take it from now on." He said wavering the needle in front of my face. I lowered his arm and gave him a slight grin.

"More needles? Isn't there a less painful way to do this?" I asked eyeing the needle.

"Well, there is a pill–" "I'll take the pill." After 15 minutes of talking about how life was gonna be from now on, me and Eli left the hospital, now walking in the parking lot, my mood duller than usual. Eli put a hand on my shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked. I groaned.

"I hate that. I hate that soo much." I commented.

"Well you're gonna hate diabetes for the rest of your life until a bunch of geniuses find–" I quickly stopped him and said "No, I mean when people ask you 'are you okay' when they know you're not. It's like if someone just fell down the stairs and someone runs up and asks you if you're okay, and you say 'Yeah. The pain doesn't hurt at all.' sarcastically and then they get mad at you for being snarky and rude. Don't get mad at me for being an idiot, then!" I rambled and Eli laughed. "By the way, I am okay. I have no problem with being a diabetic." He nodded, opening the hearse's door for me. I got in and he shut the door, walking over to the driver's side. He got in the car and started Morty up. We drove back to the house and I was just about to collapse on the couch when I saw Eli's mom and dad cuddling on it. I was so close to saying 'ew' when Eli covered my mouth and pointed upstairs. I nodded and slowly ran up the stairs behind him. We walked into his room and I dropped on the bed, loving the nice softness of it. I heard my stomach grumble and looked over at Eli with pleading eyes.

"No. Diabetic or not, you get off your lazy ass and get it." He said. I gave him a confused look.

"Fine. I need the exercise anyway…and what's up with you? Your sharpie ran dry?" I asked standing up. He sighed, rubbing his temples. I gave him another look before walking out the room and slowly going down the stairs, trying not to make so much noise. I was just about to walk towards the kitchen when I saw something I wasn't supposed to see. I quickly ran up the stairs back to Eli's room and closed the door swiftly but quietly, covering my eyes. I opened them and then ran towards the bed screaming into a pillow. I could tell Eli was looking at me weirdly.

"Is something wrong?" he asked questionably with a hint of laughter in his voice. I lifted my head and stared at him, shaking a little.

"I saw something I was _not_ supposed to see." I answered rubbing my shoulders together. He gave me another confused look and I stood up, grabbing his arm, walking towards the door. I opened it, walking down the stairs slowly. As soon as we made it down, I covered my eyes, not bearing to look at what I previously saw.

"See for yourself." I whispered to Eli before he looked and screamed "MOM! DAD!" His parents quickly pulled away from what they were doing and I heard his mom say "Eli…we didn't even hear you guys come in! We were just…" I covered my ears and hit the ground. If you're wondering, they were making out so much, that Mrs. Goldsworthy was slowly taking off her shirt(did I almost throw up at grown woman boobs? Hell yes. Plus they were my best friend's mom's boobs. That's just wrong). I stood up and walked to the kitchen, about to grab a banana, but then dropped it and grabbed some yogurt. I walked back to Eli's room, trying to erase what had happened. Afternoon came by fast and I had fell asleep after all the stress I got going on. I woke up to Eli blasting Dead Hand and talking to Clare over the phone.

"Uh, Clare, I'll call you later, ok? Ok, bye." He hung up the phone and looked at my smirking face. "What?"

"You like her, don't you?" I asked stretching out. His ears turned red as he said "We're just friends, Ghost. Nothing more."

"So, you don't like Clare?"

"No! I do."

"Ah ha! So you do like like Clare!" I yelled out. He rolled his eyes.

"Stop twisting my words!" he said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I flipped open my phone and looked at my missed calls. I had 5 from Gabe.

"Fuck. What time is it?" I asked Eli and he turned to his computer, turning back to me saying "Like 7:00." I cursed and quickly called Gabe. It went straight to voicemail. 'Fuck.' I thought hanging up. I got so frustrated that I threw my phone across the room. Eli looked at it and then looked back at me.

"So, you're just gonna take it out on your phone?" he asked me. I groaned and walked over to pick it up, the screen shattered and the battery out. I pushed the battery back in and tried to turn on my phone. There was a slight glitch but it still worked. I started to put my shoes on and stuffed my shattered phone in my pocket. I was almost out the door when Eli called me back. He threw me my insulin and my blood meter thing. I groaned and quickly took it, lifting my shirt up to take it near my stomach. I winced at the pain and quickly put the needle on the dresser along with the insulin, walking out the door. I was on my way to The Dot, I already knew that Gabe would be there. I ran, pushing people out of the way. I hit my head on the door and groaned, opening it with one hand and holding my head with the other. I saw Gabe sitting near a window, wearing a grey and black striped hoodie with the sleeves rolled up. I tried to think of something to say, but he noticed me and I had just noticed that he had headphones in his ears. He yanked them out and murmured "Don't talk to me." Before walking past me, I grabbed his arm.

"Wait, no, Gabe you don't understand. I overslept after…" I trailed off, afraid to tell him since we've only been seeing each other for a few days. He turned to me with a glare in his eyes that made me remove my hand from his arm.

"So you overslept _and _forgot? Wow. Real nice, Ghost. You could've called, you could've canceled…you could've told me where you were going!" he yelled at me, and I wasn't exactly enjoying it. I felt my neck heat up, and it was only when I got nervous or angry.

"I couldn't tell you!" I yelled back, tears threatening to fall down my face. I tried to hold them in, but they were about to pour.

"Why? You know you could tell me anything!" he said it softer, but there was still anger in is voice. I shook my head.

"I…just couldn't." I stuttered. I felt hot tears hit my face and I quickly whipped them away. Gabe sighed and walked out The Dot, walking quickly down the street. I walked out the door and before he could make it a few feet away from me I yelled out "I have diabetes!" He stopped walking, turning slowly to face me. The tears were coming down freely, and I held onto my arms, cold from the autumn air. Some people had stopped and stared at me, some had continued walking. My head was down, so I didn't notice Gabe walk up to me and touch my arm lightly, as if he might break me. I looked up into his eyes, the grey orbs that I could live in if I wanted to. He took my hand and walked me towards the park. We sat down at the same bench we sat at yesterday. He didn't say anything, just stared down, glancing at me a few times. He finally broke the silence.

"How long have you known?" he asked me almost silently.

"Today. I went to the hospital this morning to take the second test." I answered, looking at my hands. I twisted the spiked ring on my finger.

"Why didn't you tell me yesterday? When we were talking?" he asked again.

"Because I wasn't sure if I had it. I didn't wanna tell you wrong information. And I would've called later, but something else happened." I felt my throat tightening up, but I continued.

"My mom…she got hit by a car. I had went to the hospital to check on her and then there were cops that asked me questions…it was too much for me to think about. I was gonna tell you, that I couldn't make the date. But it slipped my mind when I went to the hospital to figure out if I had diabetes, and then I fell asleep from the pressure, and didn't wake up until 7:00. I tried to call, but you didn't pick up. So I came to The Dot, and you know the rest." I finished. Gabe didn't say anything for at least a minute.

"I would've understood. If you would've told me." He stated, looking at me.

"I know I should've told you. And I'm an idiot for thinking that you would've took it the wrong way and treated me differently." I said and I saw Gabe look down. I grabbed his free hand and held onto it tight. He looked at it and squeezed back. He stood up and looked at me smiling.

"I won't let you go through this alone. I can promise you that." He said and smiled back, hugging him. I felt water fall on my face and knew that it wasn't tears as it started pouring rain. I quickly pulled away from Gabe and laughed.

"Is this cliché or what?" I said and he nodded, laughing. He grabbed my hand and we ran out of the park, running up to a car.

"You have a car?" I asked. He didn't answer, he just opened the car door for and I got in. He ran over to the driver's seat and got in quickly, his hair soaked. My hair was soaked too, but I could care less. We looked at each other and leaned in until our lips met. I grabbed the back of his head and I could feel his soft blonde hair under my hands. His hands roamed my body, and I had let him, freely. After about 10 minutes of making out, I had to leave. I gave him a quick kiss before stepping out of the car. I walked back home, my heels clicking on the concrete. I knocked on the door of Eli's house and he opened the door with a slight smile.

"Sup?" I asked him, walking in. His parents were in the living room, sitting and watching the TV. AS soon as I walked in, they turned off the TV and turned to me with a smile.

"What's going on?" I asked taking a seat across from them. Eli sat on the arm of the sofa, next to his mom. She had a genuine motherly smile on her face.

"Georgia. We all talked it over. And we've decided that for as long as your mom is in the hospital, then we'll aid you in anything you need." She said and my grin grew into a full blown smile. I jumped and said "So am I, like, your daughter now? Until my mom gets better?"

"That's right Georgia Goldsworthy." Eli said standing up to give me a hug. I hugged him tight and felt soo welcome here. More than I did before, when I had stayed here without asking. I was…in the family.


End file.
